After the Fall
by The Night Lord
Summary: EDITED! Synchronised with “The Chosen Ones”. Takes place after “Not Fade Away”. After the battle, Angel and the gang continue to face off against the Senior Partners, as old friends and enemies appear. Crosses over with The Chosen Ones every now and again
1. The Demonic Army

**This has been rewrittened, but it follows the same kinda storyline, just like The Chosen Ones. Hope you enjoy the new version**

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Angel made his way down the alley until he reached the fence. The rain was pouring down heavily, as he looked around for any more of his team members. So far, he was the only survivor…

"Boo."

Angel whirled around, raising his sword slightly, as Spike appeared out of the darkness, blood running down his left cheek and forehead.

"Anyone else?" asked Angel.

"Not so far," Spike answered, "You feel the heat?"

"It's coming."

Something roared in the distance.

"Finally got ourselves a decent brawl," said Spike.

"Damn, how'd I know the fang boys would come through," cried Gunn as he made his way towards the vampires, an axe in his hand, "You're lucky we're on the same side, dogs, cause I was on fire tonight. My game was tight."

He bent over to take a breather, as Spike and Angel helped him sit down. It was then they saw the blood on Gunn's shirt. His own blood.

"Suppose to wear that red stuff on the inside, Charlie boy," Spike said.

Gunn looked at the blood on his hand, before looking up at the vampires.

"Any word on Wes?"

Spike shook his head, just as Illyria suddenly dropped down in front of them.

"Wesley's dead," she said, "I'm feeling grief for him. I can't seem to control it. I wish to do more violence."

There was a lot of yelling and roaring happening in the background. Something was coming. And it sounded like more than one.

"Well, wishes just happen to be horses today," Spike told her.

"Among other things," said Angel, looking past the group.

Spike looked over his shoulder and sure enough, a huge demonic army was making their ways towards the four, as a dragon flew overhead

"Okay, you take the thirty thousand on the left," said Gunn.

"You're fading. You'll last ten minutes at best," Illyria told him.

The army was getting closer now. Gunn got to his feet.

"Then let's make them memorable."

Angel, Spike, Gunn and Illyria all moved out to face the army, taking a defiant final stance against Wolfram and Hart.

"And in terms of a plan?" Spike asked.

"We fight," Angel answered.

"A bit more specific?"

Angel took a few steps out away from the group.

"Well personally, I kinda wanna slay the dragon."

He watched the army as they got closer and tightened his grip on his sword.

"Let's go to work."

Angel clashed swords with a pig-faced demon, swinging his sword back and slicing the demon's throat open. Spike vamped out and kicked a demon in the chest, before taking his sword and slicing another demon open. Gunn gripped his axe tightly and swung it furiously, cutting down any demons that came near. Illyria kicked a demon in the stomach, dropping him instantly, before backhanding another demon and sending him flying. Angel whirled around a demon and elbowed him in the back, before decapitating a vampire and then impaling another demon. Spike ducked under an axe and slashed the demon across the back, before dodging another sword and impaling the demon. Gunn drove his axe into a demon's groin area and ripped upwards, slicing the demon in half, before using the momentum to bring his axe down overhead on another demon, cleaving him in half. Illyria took an axe from one of her victims and sliced a vampire cleanly in half at the waist, before embedding the blade into a demon's forehead

Lightning suddenly arced across several demons, burning them, as two arrows flew down and killed two demons. A woman dropped down from a building, crossbow in one hand and sword in the other, killing any demons around her, as another woman dropped down beside her and began punching demons, channelling electricity into their bodies and throwing them through the air. Angel's son, Connor, suddenly dropped over the fence behind the gang, a wrist-mounted crossbow on his right arm and a curved blade attached to his left forearm

"Connor, what are you doing here?" Angel demanded

"Saving your ass. What does it look like?"

"Fine. You die, you're grounded," Angel said as he vamped out and killed a demon

"Faith?" Spike cried, "What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

"More killing, less talking. Talk later, kay blondie?"

Spike growled and killed two demons in quick succession, as the dragon roared from its perch on a nearby building rooftop

"Dragon's mine!" Angel shouted

The dragon spread its large wings and leapt off the building, flying down towards the battle. Angel kept a close eye on it as he continued to slaughter demons. And he hadn't started to get tired yet, due to the new strength flowing through his veins, thanks to Hamilton. The dragon roared, as it dived and landed in the middle of the battle, breathing jets of fire. Angel made his way towards the dragon, killing demons and vampires as he went, until he was standing before the giant lizard

"You're mine," Angel snarled

The dragon roared and shot a jet of flames towards the vampire, but Angel had dodged them easily and was running towards it. The dragon reared up onto its hind legs, flashing its large claws and brought them down towards Angel, as he ducked under them and drove his sword upwards into the dragon's soft chest. The dragon roared, as Angel removed his sword and kept stabbing in the chest over and over again, until it keeled back and fell onto several demons, crushing them under its weight

"Feeling better now?" Spike asked as he snapped a demon's neck

"Much," Angel answered, "Hey, Gwen!"

Gwen gave him a small wave as she punched a vampire, shocking him with her electrical powers, before ducking under a demon's axe and kicking him in the face. Angel slashed opened another demon and ran his sword through a pig-faced demon, before removing his sword and dodging a mace coming at him

"Angel, we've got trolls coming," Faith called out

"Gwen, can you direct lightning through your body?" Angel called

"Yeah, why?"

"See them?"

"Oh, I see why"

"Take them down if you can"

Gwen did a scorpion kick on a vampire, before doing a backflip and kicking another vampire in the face. She held her hand up, summoning a lightning bolt to strike her body, as she held out her other hand towards the trolls. The lightning bolt hit her hard, making her stumble a bit, but she was able to channel the electricity through her body and towards the trolls, blasting them with a chain lightning effect and taking them down

"Good work," Angel said, "Take them all out if you can"

"It'll hurt, but I'll do it," Gwen said

Angel and Spike defended her as she called down another lightning bolt, before moving out of the way as she sent it flying towards the demons, scorching their skin and even killing some of them. A few of the stray lightning bolts struck the buildings, blasting small chunks out and covering parts of the army in dust

"Let's get out of here," Angel said, "Head to the Hyperion"

Spike was the first to jump over the fence, but he waited for the others, as Faith followed him, then Illyria, Connor and finally Gwen

"Come on, Angel," Spike called

"Where's Gunn?" Angel shouted

Spike paused for a minute, before answering

"He's dead. I saw him fall"

A moment of sadness washed over Angel, but he ignored it for the time being as he leapt over the fence and ran with Spike towards the Hyperion Hotel. However, once they got away from the battle and inside the building, they saw that someone was waiting for them. Angel and Spike's jaws opened slightly in shock

"Oz?"

"Hey guys"

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	2. An Old Friend Returns

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"Oz, what are you doing here?" Angel asked as he headed towards the front counter

"Came to see what was going on," Oz answered, "I heard Sunnydale's gone"

"That would be thanks to him," Angel said, motioning to Spike

"Hey"

"Spike?"

"Yeah, and before you say anything, I've got a soul, so shut up"

"Okay. How's it going, Faith?"

"Five by five"

"What about you, Gwen?"

"Still tingling from those lightning bolts, but I'm good"

"Angel, what's been going on?" Faith asked

"You remember when I took over Wolfram and Hart?" Angel said

Faith nodded, prompting him to continue

"Well, thanks to a vision from a very special person, I was able to see who the Senior Partners' connections were: The Circle of the Black Thorn, a group of very powerful and evil demons. We destroyed them, so the Senior Partners sent that army after us"

"So what have all you gremlins been up to?" Spike asked the newcomers

"Cleveland sucks major," Faith answered, "So I came here for the real action. It's not fun competing with fifty other slayers. Buffy, fine no worries, but fifty slayers? No thanks. So I left Robin in charge of them"

"I heard that there was some big evil brewing here in L.A," Oz said, "Mentor told me to check it out. Oh and he told me that Sunnydale got destroyed"

"I was coming along to see what was going on when I saw the clouds and had this feeling that something big was going down," said Gwen, "Lucky I ran into you guys, huh?"

"And we all know how I never really listen to Dad anyway," Connor said, "We'll just leave it at that"

Angel frowned at his son, who didn't notice

"So, boss man, what are you planning on doing now?" Spike asked, "Senior Partners are still gonna be after us"

"We destroyed their army. They have nothing for a while"

"Uh, correction, we destroyed part of their army," Connor said, "There will still be some demons out there, looking for us and putting innocents in danger"

Angel cursed

"Looks like our job's not finished, Peaches," Spike said, "Might as well head out there and finish it. And stick to the Partners while we're at it"

"Sounds like a plan," Angel agreed, "Let's gear up and head out"

"With what exactly?" Gwen asked, "The only weapons we have are the ones we took from the battle"

"Not really," Oz spoke up, "I've got weapons"

"Huh?"

"Monks in Tibet gave me a nice load of weapons to bring back here. Thought you might need it"

"Lead us, wolf boy," Spike said

Oz ignored him and led them outside to his van, opening the side door and revealing a stash of weapons in the back

"Told you"

"Oz man, this is awesome," Spike grinned as he picked up a morning star

"Monks didn't need it, so I scored it. Nice, hey?"

"Damn straight," Faith agreed as she picked out a pair of large and wickedly curved knives, which looks similar to her pair from Sunnydale

Angel grabbed a large broadsword and cut the air a few times, as Spike took a pair of small swords for himself, grinning as he spun them around, while Gwen went for the morning star that Spike had earlier

"What are you packing?" Faith asked Oz

He didn't answer. Instead, he reached into the van and showed them a collapsible Bo staff. Then he showed them that the staff could be split into halves, albeit with a sharp point on one end, like large stakes

"Nice," Faith commented

"You gonna take something, Blue?" Spike asked

Illyria cocked her head at the weapons, before grabbing an axe for herself, as Connor grabbed a sword and began practising with it, trying to get used to the feel of the weapon again

"We better get going," Angel said

"Where are we going?" Gwen asked

"Somewhere away from here, but nearby. We fought them in the nearby alley. I've got a feeling they won't be too far away"

"We could go somewhere that doesn't have many civilians and fight them," Spike suggested, "We're really well known, so it won't be long before they find us"

"Right, let's go," said Angel

He turned and began walking away, as everyone else followed him. Angel led the way to minor main road, where there weren't many cars and civilians around

"This is it," Spike said, "Our official last stand"

"Never knew it was unofficial," Faith said, "And what about that fight in the alley earlier?"

"That was Peaches being cranky and depressive. Nothing out of the ordinary when you think about it"

"Spike, shut up"

The rain had eased off after the battle, but now it was coming back with full force

"Ah, damn, knew there was a reason I hated the rain," Gwen said

"They're coming," Angel announced, "And looks like they've got reinforcements"

"Bring them on," Faith grinned, "Haven't had enough action for one night yet"

Spike cocked an eyebrow at her

"You're telling me"

"This should be quite interesting," Connor said

"Don't worry, we'll be fine," Angel told him

"Yeah, everyone but Angel"

Angel ignored his grand-childe, as the army of the Senior Partners took notice of them and began heading their way

"Here we go," Spike said, "Come on, bring it!"

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	3. Making an Official Stand

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"Let's do the time warp again," Spike sang as he decapitated a demon, "Oh let's do the time warp again"

"Spike, shut up. You're a terrible singer," Angel growled while killing a demon

"I'm not even trying Peaches. Just trying to lighten the mood a little"

"Please don't. It's distracting"

"Oh, I'm distracting you, am I? Oh, poor little Angel"

"One more word, Spike and I'm killing you myself"

"Guys, break it up," Faith cried, "You're giving me a headache"

"You heard the slayer," Spike smirked as he killed another demon, "Stop it"

Angel growled under his breath and dodged an axe, before killing the demon and its comrade in quick succession. Faith kicked a demon in the chest and lunged forth with her daggers, stabbing the demon, then swinging her daggers around in a windmill fashion into another demon

Gwen was swinging her morning star around, while channelling her electrical powers through the weapon and stunning the demons when she struck them, while Connor was following after her and killing the demons left behind. Oz had turned into his werewolf form and was leaping about, bringing demons down and tearing their throats out

Spike and Illyria were working in tandem once again, covering each other's backs, as demons lay slaughtered around them. Spike had his vamp face on, while cutting down demons with his dual swords, as Illyria swung her face into a demon's face, before kicking him in the chest and sending him flying, ripping the axe away as she did

"Uh, Angel, did you forget something?" Gwen asked

"Like what?"

"Like them?"

Angel looked up and saw about four large trolls heading towards him, followed by a giant swinging a club with steel spikes at the head

"Oh, that doesn't look good"

A lightning bolt shot over Angel's head and struck a troll, causing it to stumble back, but it growled and stomped over towards Angel

"Why me?"

"Why not?" Spike asked

He and Illyria came in from the left, attacking a troll, as it swung its large club, sending demons flying through the air and coming close to striking the other trolls. Angel dodged a club and rolled away, before stabbing a demon as he got up. Oz lunged onto a troll's leg and began biting, as the troll roared and tried to kick him off, but to no avail. Faith joined Angel's side as he continued killing demons while avoiding the trolls

"Keep them distracted like that," Angel called, "They might start attacking each other"

"Easy for you to say," Spike said as he dodged a club

Illyria sliced through the back of the troll's knees, bringing it down, as Spike drove his swords through the troll's head. Oz had let go of his troll and was now attached to its arm. The troll swung its club at Oz, but missed and struck a comrade troll. The offended troll turned and slammed its club into the troll's chest, driving the spikes into its flesh and dropping it. Oz let go and started attacking demons with fury

Angel killed a demon and saw a spear lying nearby. Dodging an axe, he stabbed the demon, before picking up the spear and turning around. Using the strength he still possessed from Hamilton, Angel threw the spear with a powerful force, nearly throwing it all the way through one of the troll's chest. Once the troll had dropped, Angel whirled around and decapitated a demon, as Connor joined him

"How you holding up?" Connor asked

"Fine, thanks. What about you?"

"Alright. I'm alive so far"

Gwen shot a lightning bolt overhead, striking the troll in the face. Illyria seized her chance and ripped the club from the troll's loose fingers, before placing it behind the troll, as Spike sliced through its tendons, causing it to fall back over onto its own club

"Gwen, if you can finish it, do it please," Angel called

Gwen nodded and struck a demon with her morning star, before attracting a bolt of lightning and directing it towards the demons, blasting them down and burning their flesh, as the rest converged at her. Angel, Spike and Connor defended Gwen, as she let rip with another lightning bolt and decimated the demons

Thunderclouds rumbled overhead, as lightning flashed, as did a pair of eyes

"What the hell was that?" Spike asked

"The Senior Partners maybe," Faith suggested

"The Senior Partners. They dare to appear before us, when we have shown that we are stronger than they are," Illyria said

"Show yourself," Angel called, "What are you, afraid of a little vampire?"

"You will pay greatly, vampire" 

"Well, you've just thrown two demonic armies at me and I've slaughtered them, so give it your best shot"

"This is not over" 

"Damn right it's not," Angel shouted, "Because I'm gonna keep fighting you. I will keep destroying evil wherever I go. I'm coming back"

"Angel Investigations right?" Faith asked

"It is useless. We will destroy you" 

"Until that day, stay up there and try to think of a way for that to happen"

The Senior Partners didn't reply. Angel looked around at the carnage. Demon bodies littered the streets and the walkways

"Nice job you did here, mate," Spike said

"Well, Senior Partners want a fight, we're giving them a fight. Not from their position anymore like Wolfram and Hart. We're going back to basics"

"Where you run out like a big strapping hero and save the day?"

"I could always send you out to play the hero"

Angel and Spike turned away to leave, as everyone else followed them

"We're heading back to the Hyperion, everyone. If you want to join Angel Investigations, that's great, but I'm not going to condemn you if you don't"

"No way, I'm joining," Faith said

"You'll have to pass the initiation test," Spike said

"What test?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"I'll do it," Connor said, as Gwen and Oz also agreed

"Sounds like a deal," Angel said, "Come on, let's go"

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	4. Assault on the Hyperion

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The woman was petrified as she ran for her life. Three vampires were chasing her; enjoying the fear she gave off and weren't trying too hard to catch her. They knew they would get her; they were just having fun with her first. The woman turned a corner and bumped into someone. The person helped her to her feet, as the vampires reached the corner

"Go," Faith said, "Keep going til you get home"

The vampires snarled when they recognised the Slayer

"Isn't it a bit late for you boys to be out?" Faith asked

"Slayer," one vampire snarled

"Good. Now we've established that, let's get to the ass kicking. And I mean for you"

The vampires charged at Faith. She grabbed the lid of a nearby bin and threw it into a vampire's chest, knocking him down, before ducking under a vampire's jumping kick and delivering a turning back kick to the third vampire. Faith whirled around and backhanded the second vampire, as the first vampire got to his feet and roared. A hand landed on the vampire's shoulder and he turned around, as a fist slammed into his face

"Sorry about that mate," Spike said as he headed towards the vampire

The vampire got to his feet again and snarled, before charging at Spike. He punched the vampire in the face again, knocking him down, before pulling a stake out of his coat and plunging it into the vampire's heart. The vampire dusted, as Faith staked the other two vampires

"Nice job," Spike said as he put his stake away

"You too," Faith said, "What about the others? Heard from them?"

"Not yet. But we soon will. Shall we?"

Faith smiled and began walking, wary for any more demons, but in a relaxed pose, as Spike strode next to her

"This sure as hell beats sitting around in Cleveland doing nothing," Faith said

"What was that like anyway?" Spike asked, "You know, after the battle and all that. Andrew told me some stuff, but you know"

"We all went our different ways, I guess," Faith answered, "We do keep in touch, but we're very spread out. Got loads of Slayers working for us. Or for Buffy, seeing as I'm not getting involved in it anymore"

"Prefer the solo act or something?"

"I need space"

"You came to the right place"

A scream rang out, followed by a demon roaring. Faith and Spike raced towards the screaming and saw a couple running away from a dog-like demon with large bat-like ears and wings, spittle flying from its fangs

"Big boy," Spike said

"That is so not helpful"

Faith grabbed a piece of wood and threw it at the demon, striking it in the back of its head and getting its attention. The demon gave them a look and roared, before racing towards them. Spike grabbed a piece of steel pipe and twirled it around lazily

"Yeah, bring it on"

The demon lunged, as Spike swung the pipe, connecting it with its rib cage. The demon whined as it hit the ground. Spike began bashing the demon, but it lashed out with its foot and sent him flying. The demon got up, as Faith punched it, followed by a kick and a backfist. The demon snarled and slashed with its claws, raking Faith's shoulder. She cried out, as Spike came in and struck the demon on the snout. The demon whined and slashed, but Spike drove the pipe through the demon's chest. The demon let out a small whine and fell, as Spike helped Faith to her feet

"Come on, let's go"

Faith nodded and they headed back to the Hyperion, as Angel and Connor were putting their weapons away

"How'd you go?" Angel asked

"Alright, I guess. Faith got a little too close to a demon's claws"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine"

Faith went to the counter and grabbed the first-aid kit, as Angel went to her and began helping her

"Angel, I can do it myself"

"Yeah, but I better do it so it can heal better, cause these don't look good"

"When is everyone else coming back?" Spike asked Connor

The teen shrugged, as the front doors opened and Illyria arrived

"How's that?" Angel asked once he was done

"Yeah, feel's good actually," Faith said, moving her arm around slowly

Angel put the kit away, just as the lights went out

"What the hell?" Spike said

"That's not good," Connor said

"You forget to pay the bill, Peaches?" Spike asked

"No. Spike, go and get the power box, okay?"

"Yes sir!"

Spike left the lobby, as Angel grabbed a couple of torches from under the counter and flicked them on, handing one of them to Connor, as Oz and Gwen arrived back at the hotel

"Okay, what's going on?" Oz asked

"Don't know. Spike's gone to check the box," Connor answered

"The power's been cut off," Spike said, reappearing, "We're not alone"

"Spectacular," Angel muttered

"And it's more than one," Oz said

Angel and Spike trained their ears, hearing the multiple footsteps moving silently upstairs. Faith and Connor opened the cabinet and began grabbing weapons, handing them out to everyone. Angel headed up the stairs first with Faith behind him and Connor behind her. Spike, Illyria, Gwen and Oz remained in the lobby, ready for any attacks. Angel, Faith and Connor were checking the bedrooms, finding nothing, until a gunshot rang out in the lobby. They raced back to see cables hanging from the ceiling and a few bodies surrounding the four

"What happened here?" Faith asked

"Assassins," Spike answered as he knelt next to one of the bodies, "Wolfram & Hart assassins?"

"And that is possible how exactly?" Angel asked

"Dunno, but there's more"

The basement door burst open, as more assassins entered the lobby and began shooting away. One of the bedroom doors exploded outwards, as several assassins came spilling out of the room, shooting at the trio. Angel snarled when several bullets struck his body. Faith and Connor leapt off the railing and joined the other four, as Angel began fighting against the assassins, his game face on, as he disarmed and killed them. Gunshots rang out, as he joined the others and continued fighting

"Is this the best you can do?" Angel shouted to the ceiling

"You're losing it, mate," Spike said

The front doors were destroyed, as a large demon with four arms and wielding large swords entered the hotel

"Oh, that is so not good," Oz said

The four-armed demon roared and charged at the group with astonishing speed, swinging its swords wildly

"Bugger," Spike said as he narrowly avoided a haircut

Angel slashed an assassin open, as the demon attacked. Angel snarled as he blocked the demon's attacks. Connor grabbed a fallen rifle and began shooting the demon in the back. It whirled around and roared, as Gwen stabbed it in the flank with her sword, before directing her electrical powers through the weapon. The demon roared in pain, as Angel stabbed it through the back and quickly let go. The demon fell to the ground, as Faith, Oz, Spike and Illyria finished off the rest of the assassins

"Nice work, Gwen," Angel said as he removed his sword

"Thanks"

"With stuff like that happening all the time, we're gonna have hella wild time here," Spike said, "Sound good?"

Faith rolled her eyes

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	5. An Uneasy Reunion

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"Damn it, Blue, could you be more gentle?" Spike growled

"Some of these projectiles are imbedded deep in your flesh"

"Yeah, but more gentleness would be nice, thanks"

Spike took a swig of the whiskey as Illyria burrowed the tweezers into his back, removing the bullets from his body, a couple of them having driven in deep

"This is not an easy task to accomplish. A couple have reached to near your chest"

"Those were the point-blank shots"

"Point-blank?"

"Right up close"

Illyria removed another bullet, as Spike hissed and took another swig

"How many more?"

"I've counted at least another three bullets"

"Damn, they shot me up real good"

"That was sarcasm, right?"

"Yeah it was. So, how do you know how to dress wounds?"

"Memories from Fred. She has seen these being carried out by a woman named Cordelia and she has also joined in with the 'patching up'"

"Well, you're doing good so far"

Illyria didn't answer as she removed the last bullet, before grabbing the bandages and began patching up his wounds

"Done"

Spike got off the bed and put his shirt back on, before noticing that Illyria also had a few bullet holes in her as well. She hadn't said anything about them or shown any pain, as she began packing up the first-aid kit

"You want me to have a look at them?"

"At what?"

"Those wounds of yours"

Illyria looked down at herself

"I shall be fine. My body will force these projectiles out and will heal"

"You're not as invincible as you used to be"

"And who do I have to thank for that?"

"Well, if you want to be the stuck-up ice queen, fine by me"

"You can look"

Spike cocked an eyebrow at her

"You sure?"

"You're right about me not being so invincible anymore. I can feel the pain these objects are giving to me. I never knew pathetic creatures could create such painful weapons"

"Yeah, well, we're capable of a few things"

Illyria turned away from Spike, as the top half of her leather outfit dematerialised and she laid down on the bed. Spike grabbed the kit and began removing the bullets from her back, before patching them up

"You are as gentle as Wesley was"

"Believe it or not, but I am a gentle guy. This whole bad boy thing is façade"

"Your touch sends strange shivers throughout me. Is that normal?"

"Yeah, I think that is normal, Blue. All done"

The top half of her outfit rematerialized, as she got up from the bed and stretched

"I feel much better now"

"Good, now, let's go and see what the others are up to"

Spike and Illyria left the room and headed into the lobby, where Faith had just finished patching Angel and Connor up, while Gwen had looked after Oz

"We're having fun?" Spike asked as he put the kit away

"If you like getting shot," Angel said

"Well, not by bullets, but I won't say no to alcohol shots"

Angel rolled his eyes and put his shirt back on, as someone appeared at the former front door. Both Angel and Spike were drawn to the person, as she looked about the place and was joined by a younger woman

"Buffy?" said Angel

"Dawn?" said Spike

A look of shock and surprise washed over Buffy's face when she saw Spike

"You're alive?"

Spike swallowed and gave her a small smile

"Yeah. As alive as a vampire can be"

"I can't believe it," Buffy said as she got closer to Spike, "You're alive"

Angel cleared his throat

"How's it going, Buffy?" he asked

"I could ask the same here," she answered

Spike looked at Dawn and smiled, as she put her bag down and leapt into his arms. Spike let out a small laugh as he hugged her back

"Oh my god, you're back, you're back"

"Um, who are these guys?" Connor asked Faith

"That's Buffy and that's her little sister, Dawn," Faith answered, "Buffy has a history with both Angel and Spike"

"Oh, so that is the Buffy I've heard about?"

"Yeah. Their old girlfriend or whatnot"

"And that's Buffy's little sister?"

"Yeah, name's Dawn. Go and say hi"

"Huh?"

"Oz?" Buffy said

"Hey, Buffy," Oz smiled

Buffy headed over to him and gave him a hug, before stepping back to check him out

"You look good"

"So do you"

"How's your wolf thing going?"

"Pretty good"

"Cool"

Buffy looked around and saw Faith, who gave her a small wave

"Hi, B. Miss me?"

"Robin did"

"Oh, he'll live. He's got like another fifty slayers with him"

"So, why did you leave?"

"Got bored of Cleveland. Wanted something different. Came here and got Angel out of a sticky situation. Don't tell me you came here to check up on me?"

"Well, no actually. I heard there was a dark power brewing here and was worried"

"Oh, well, that's nothing really," Angel said, "We've got it under control"

"Really?" Buffy asked, looking back at the hole where the doors used to be

"That was not our fault," Spike said

"What's been happening?" Dawn asked

"Senior Partners have declared war on us," Angel answered, "As you can see, L.A. has turned into a demon world. We've got our hands full battling against them"

"We could send over a squad of slayers to help you out," Buffy offered

"No thanks, I think we'll be alright here"

Buffy's phone suddenly rang, just as Connor got near to Dawn. She didn't notice him and was more interested in the phone call

"What?!" Buffy cried

"What is it?" Angel and Spike answered at the same time

"I'll be right there. As soon as I can. You just work on getting her back. I'll be bringing some back-up"

"Us?" Spike said

"Wouldn't you like to know? See you soon"

Buffy hung up and looked at the vampires

"Willow has just been kidnapped. You two are coming with me to get her back"

"Yeah, sure, cause we've got nothing better to do," Spike said

"You don't want to come?" Buffy asked, sounding a little hurt

"I'll come along," Angel said, "Faith can take over for the time being"

"Yeah, no worries," Faith said

"Can I come?" Connor asked

"Okay then"

"And you know you're not going anywhere without me watching your back," Spike said

Angel sighed

"Fine, let's go"

††††††††††


	6. When the Senior Partners Play God

††††††††††

"Okay, that was something different," Spike said

Angel, Connor and him had arrived back in Los Angeles earlier and now arrived back at the hotel. Because of the Senior Partners, the sun was always covered, allowing vampires to move about freely during the day, recalling something similar two years ago with a corrupt Power That Be

"Hey, you're back," Faith said, "How was Scotland?"

"We rescued Willow and found out that the army is after Buffy," Angel explained, "All because of the slayers she created, the army think she's a threat to the world"

"Ooh, sounds like fun," Gwen said, "They'll be fine, right?"

"Yeah, they should be," Angel said, "I'm gonna go wash up"

He headed upstairs to the showers, as Spike sat down on the couch and sighed

"Is there beer in the fridge?"

Faith rolled on her computer chair to the fridge and opened it

"There's a packet of blood in here with Angel's name on it"

"I'll take it"

"Angel'll kill you"

Spike headed over to the fridge and grabbed the packet, before getting a mug

"Not afraid of him. Beat him once before anyway"

"Yeah, out of how many times?"

Spike ignored her as he filled the mug with the blood and began walking away towards his room drinking it, as Angel came downstairs, dressed in new clothes, and headed for the fridge

"Where's my blood?"

He looked over at Faith and noticed the empty blood packet in the bin next to the desk. He looked up towards Spike's room and put the two together

"That's it, I'm killing him"

"This is gonna be good," Gwen grinned, "Any bets on who'll win?"

"Angel," Faith answered

"We've got it," cried Oz suddenly

Faith perked up, as Illyria came into the hotel, carrying a steel roller door. When the vampires and Connor had been away, Oz had been cleaning up the doorway, making it neater and now had the roller door to cover the hole up. Illyria put the door down, as Oz set to work on putting it up. Connor went to help him, as shouting could be heard from the upper bedrooms. Faith smirked

"There they go"

Five minutes later, Angel came back down the stairs, a furious look on his face

"I'm gonna get some more blood, since Captain Peroxide stole my last packet"

"You didn't kill him, did you?" Gwen asked

"Came close. Hey Oz. Nice doors"

"All I could get for the time being"

"That's good then"

Angel left the hotel, as Oz attached the roller door and tested it. Once he was satisfied, he packed up his tools and put them back in his van

"At least they might be a little more resistant than those last doors," Gwen said

"That's the theory anyway," Oz agreed

Spike came down the stairs and tossed his mug into the sink, before looking around at the lobby

"Where's Peaches?"

"Gone to replace the blood you stole," Faith answered, as she looked outside, "Hey, Gwen, wanna patrol later?"

"Yeah, okay"

Spike was mumbling under his breath as he headed back to his room and laid down on his bed, before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep. But as he slept, nightmares invaded his mind, mainly of all his past sins, but also of one where the world was an empty wasteland and he was the only one left. Everyone else had been killed off. Then the scenery changed and Spike was burning in hell, chained to rocks as a dragon roasted his body non-stop, while listening to the tortured screaming

"Yaaahhh!!"

"You were thrashing in your bed as if you were caught in a nightmare," Illyria said

She was sitting on the edge of Spike's bed, as he rested his head against the pillow, his body covered in sweat. He looked at Illyria and noticed that she was wearing something other than her leather outfit for once. She was wearing a large light blue shirt that went down to her thighs and Spike looked away from avoiding thinking about her like that. Instead, he focused on the nightmare he just had

"What did you dream about?" Illyria asked

"I didn't think you cared"

"I heard you screaming as I walked past your room"

"Nice of you to check on me, but I'm fine"

"You're covered in a salty fluid and you're unnaturally breathing"

Spike realized that he was indeed breathing and stopped, regaining his composure

"I'll be fine, thanks, Lyria"

"What did you just call me?"

"Lyria? It's a nickname, like Blue"

"Oh, I see"

Illyria got up from the bed and left the room. Spike sighed and looked at his alarm clock. He had been asleep for six hours now, having gone to bed at about five thirty. Trying to get rid of the nightmare, Spike decided to get his mind off things and left his bed

††††††††††

Angel was standing on the rooftop of the Hyperion, overlooking the city. It had been three weeks since the first battle with the Senior Partner's army and now it was just down to the clean up. Demons were overrunning Los Angeles, but slowly and surely, Angel Investigations were fighting them back. The city of angels had turned into a battleground between good and evil. Angel knew it would be a long time before Los Angeles could be restored to normal. He could have accepted Buffy's offer of a group of slayers, but he knew they were busy with Amy and the military and that she would need all the slayers she could get. After all, he could handle the situation, killing off several demons a day

"Nice view"

Angel froze when he recognised the voice. He never knew he would ever hear the voice again. But you just never know with the Senior Partners. Wary of the person, Angel turned around slowly to face him

"Hello, Gunn"

Gunn smiled and tucked his hands into his pockets, before standing next to Angel and overlooking the city. Angel took a sniff of his scent and his head reeled

"You're a vampire"

"That's right. No more weakness, no more worries, just power flowing through me"

"How did you come back?"

Gunn pointed to the sky

"The Senior Partners, I guess. No idea. All I know is one minute I'm fighting against a bunch of demons, the next I'm alive as a vampire"

"Too bad it's not going to last long for you, Gunn"

"Oh, are you going to be the big hero and stake me, to save the poor little human me from being taken over by the demon"

"Looks like"

Angel lashed out, but to his surprise, Gunn dodged the swing and kicked him in the chest. Angel blocked Gunn's punch and drove his knee into his solar plexus. Gunn stumbled back, as Angel stepped forth and landed a powerful kick on his chest. Gunn landed on the ground about four feet away from Angel and got to his feet

"Still got the moves. That's good. You just might survive what's coming for you"

Before Angel could do anything, Gunn had leapt off the rooftop and disappeared from view

††††††††††


	7. Going for a Hunt: Nightmares

††††††††††

"Hey, Angel, you look like you've seen a ghost," Faith said

Angel didn't answer her

"But then again, you're always pale, so who knows?"

"I saw Gunn," Angel said hoarsely

"What do you mean you saw Gunn?" Spike asked, "Gunn's dead"

"Well, actually, he's undead"

"Say again," said Faith

"Gunn's a vampire. I don't know how, but I think the Senior Partners had something to do with it"

"No way," Spike said, "No matter how powerful the Partners are, I don't think even they can get a body that's been dead for a few days and bring it to life as a vampire"

At that moment, Gunn chose to walk into the hotel, carrying a crossbow and a sword, as four other vampires flanked him

"Or maybe they can," Spike said

"Hey, guys, how's it going?" Gunn asked

"Well, that depends on whether I kill you or not," Angel answered

Gunn fired his crossbow at Angel, but the elder vampire simply caught the bolt out of the air and tossed it aside

"Now that was cool. Let's see if the grand-childe can do that same"

One of the vampires fired at Spike. He twisted his body, narrowly dodging the bolt, as the vampires split up. Two vampires went for Faith; one went for Spike, while Gunn and another vampire streaked towards Angel. Faith backhanded one vampire, before dodging the other vampire's fist and pushing him away. Spike blocked his vampire's punch and punched him back, but the vampire recovered quickly and kicked him

"Angel's gonna die," Gunn said in a singsong voice

"More like you will," Angel said as he grabbed Gunn's lackey and threw him through the air

Gunn grinned and dodged Angel's punch, but was too slow to avoid the spinning back kick that followed. Gunn hit the floor hard and flipped onto his feet, as Angel came in with a double punch move to the chest, making him stumble, before following up with a front snap kick to Gunn's jaw, flipping him in the air and making him land on his face. Gunn groaned, as Angel grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him up, but Gunn drove a stake into his stomach. Angel growled and threw Gunn away, before removing the stake and tossing it to Faith, who staked her vampires. Spike staked his vampire and the three converged on Gunn

"Obviously we got off on the wrong foot here," Gunn said

"You took that step," Angel told him

"Oh yeah. My bad"

Gunn drew his sword, before snarling and throwing it at the trio. They ducked under the sword, as Gunn ran out of the hotel. Faith grabbed the sword and stared at the blade

"There's some sort of writing on it"

Angel grabbed the blade and had a look at it

"The writing is Japanese, but I can't quite work out what it says"

"I thought you were language man," Spike said

Angel ignored him

"We're gonna have to go after him"

The trio loaded up on weapons, before leaving the hotel and going after Gunn

††††††††††

Gwen slowly opened her eyes and yawned, before sitting up in her bed and stretching. Then she screamed

"Calm down," the man said

"Calm down?" Gwen said angrily, "You're the one sitting in my room, perv"

"You know I was never like that"

"Oh yeah, right," Gwen snorted, "What are you doing here? And after so long?"

The man chuckled, as he got up from the chair and stood near her bed

"I have come to ask for your help"

"Help with what?"

"Actually, it's not really help. It's more like I miss you and need you with me again"

"Sorry, Theo, but you were the one who left me, remember?" Gwen sneered

"True, it was so I could get away from the police. But Gwen, I am the one who made you who you are. Don't turn away from me. I helped you control your electrical powers and how to be a master thief"

"Yeah and I don't need you anymore. I'm fine where I am"

"Fighting to help the helpless in a city that lost to demons. And fighting alongside a vampire, no less"

"The vampire is a good man. He actually cares about those he works closely with"

Theo sighed and turned away from the bed, heading over to the window

"You will come with me, you know that?"

"No, I don't"

"If you won't come willingly, then I will have to force you"

"Like you always did, huh? Some things never change"

Theo whirled around and his hand shot out, as he struck Gwen with an electrical blast

"You will be by my side"

"Sorry, but I can't imagine that happening"

Gwen retaliated with a blast of her own, slamming Theo against the wall. He groaned, as Gwen got up from the bed and strode over to him, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and lifting him up onto his feet

"I won't"

Mustering her strength, Gwen threw Theo out of the open window, watching as he fell down three stories and hit the pavement hard. A few minutes passed before Theo got to his feet. He looked up at Gwen, a look of anger on his face, before he turned and walked away

"Everything okay?"

Gwen jumped at the voice and turned around to face Oz

"Yeah, I'm fine"

"I heard voices"

"Just nothing. I'll be okay"

"Okay then"

Oz left her room, as Gwen returned to her bed and fell asleep again

††††††††††

Angel, Faith and Spike returned from their hunt, having failed to find Gunn anywhere. Angel and Faith headed to their rooms, as Spike had a can of beer, before heading to his room as well. Stripping off down to nothing, Spike got into bed and immediately fell asleep, as the nightmares returned, only more intense. Someone was whispering in his ear with a raspy voice, telling him how useless and pathetic he was, how it was pointless it was to keep fighting and that in the end, only destruction and Hell remained for him

"Who are you?" Spike demanded in his dream

The voice laughed

"The one who makes all your nightmares come true"

"Show yourself"

"Of course, seeing as how close your inevitable doom is"

The owner of the voice stepped out into Spike's mind and he gasped in horror and recognition, both in his sleep and mind

"It's you"

The person cackled, as Spike struggled to fight his way out of his nightmare

††††††††††


	8. Old Foes Return

††††††††††

The bedroom door flew open, as Illyria, Connor, Angel and Oz stepped in. Pavayne whirled around, only to get Illyria's fist in his face and he struck the wall. Angel quickly moved to Spike's side and grabbed his shoulders to keep him still

"Spike, wake up," Angel said

Spike continued to thrash in his sleep, as Illyria stepped over and slapped Spike, waking him up instantly

"That's not a polite way to wake someone up, Blue," he growled

Pavayne growled and got to his feet, but found a werewolf sitting in front of him, baring his fangs at him

"Oz, heel," Angel said

Connor walked over and picked Pavayne up, before slamming his face against the wall

"Who are you and how did you get in?" Connor demanded

"His name is Matthius Pavayne, a murderous doctor who was killed by Wolfram and Hart to deconsecrate their L.A. building site," Spike explained, "Didn't you lock him up so he couldn't move forever?" he asked Angel

"He must have escaped when the building came down, right Pavayne?" Angel asked

"Very clever, Angel," Pavayne said

His elbow slammed into Connor's face, knocking him back, before whirling around and waving his hand. A black mist seeped off his hand and spread over everyone, blinding them, as he dived out of the window. The black mist cleared, as Angel headed to the window and Oz returned to his human form

"He's gone," Angel said

"Angel, please don't use doggy commands," Oz said, "Makes me feel weird"

"Sorry, Oz"

"What we miss?"

Everyone turned around to see Faith and Gwen standing at the doorway, wearing matching tank tops, panties and nightgowns

"Not much," Spike said, "Now, if you all don't mind, I'm going to sleep"

"What if Pavayne comes back and feeds you nightmares again?" Angel asked

"I don't think he will," Spike said

"I will stay and watch over him," Illyria offered

"Thanks, Blue, but I'll be fine"

"No, that sounds good," Angel said, "We have to be on the lookout. Everyone, back to bed, except for you, Illyria"

They left, as Illyria looked at Spike

"Why are you tormenting me?" Spike asked

"I'm not. I'm merely watching over you so Pavayne doesn't return"

"How sweet of you"

Spike sighed and laid his head down, falling back asleep, as Illyria stood guard by the window, watching and waiting

††††††††††

Spike woke up the next morning and rolled over, finding a body lying next to him. He jolted upright, but relaxed when he saw that it was Illyria sleeping next to him

"Since when did Illyria sleep? Must be because of the Mutari generator thingy. Hang on, Illyria's in my bed! Oh damn"

As carefully as he could, Spike got out of bed, got dressed and headed downstairs

"Sleep well?" Faith asked

"Like a baby, even with a former god-king in bed"

"Illyria fell asleep in your bed?"

"Yes. Remind me not to agree to have her watch over me"

"Will do"

Oz came down the stairs and grabbed his Bo staff and several stakes

"Going partying again?" Faith asked

"Yeah. Felt just right for a party"

"I'll come with you," Spike offered, "Need to get something out of my system"

"Isn't that what Illyria was there for?" Faith snickered

Spike growled, but otherwise ignored her, as he grabbed a sword and left the hotel with Oz, travelling the streets and searching for any demons

"What was Faith talking about?" Oz asked

"Huh? Oh right, werewolf hearing. Nothing"

"Okay then"

Oz left it at that, as they came across a group of vampires. Spike smirked, as he whistled at the vampires, getting their attention

"Is this a private party or can anyone join in?" he asked

"Get lost," a vampire snarled

"Sorry, can't"

Spike swung his sword and decapitated the vampire, as Oz struck a vampire in the chest with his staff, then the jaw, before breaking his staff apart and staking the vampire. Spike dodged a kick and sliced the vampire in half, before whirling around and beheading another vampire. Oz smacked a vampire in the face, knocking him down, before staking him, as another vampire punched him. Oz stumbled back, but held his stake up, dusting the vampire as he came at him

"Well, wasn't that fun?" Spike said

"A little"

"It was interesting to watch, though," said a voice

Oz froze, before slowly turning around. A man was standing behind them, a rifle held lazily in his hand and a necklace of fangs around his throat

"Gib Cain," Oz said

"Who is this guy?" Spike asked

"He's a werewolf hunter. Tried to kill me when I first became a werewolf"

"I've been tracking you for a long time now, wolfie," Cain said, "And where do I find you? Los Angeles. Suppose you'd be hunting down all those innocents as demons run wild"

"I'm protecting the innocents," Oz said

"It's true. He's been a good boy," Spike said

"Spike, don't help me"

"Sorry"

"Aren't you lucky it's not a full moon yet," Cain said, "But in another two nights it will be. And I will be there, waiting for you"

And with that, Cain turned and left the pair behind

"Well, that was weird," Spike said, "Usually they try and kill us now, not later"

"Let's go," Oz said

††††††††††


	9. Phone Call: Vampire Attack

††††††††††

"We've got a problem," Spike announced as they arrived back at the hotel

"How bad is it?" Faith asked

"Someone wants to skin Oz. How bad do you think?"

"Who?"

"Gib Cain," Oz answered, "Hunted me once in Sunnydale"

"And now he's here in L.A?" Faith said, "They just keep coming, don't they?"

The phone rang and she quickly answered it

"Hello? Oh, hey, how's it going? Yeah I'm good, we're all good. Connor? You want to speak with Connor?"

Faith lowered the phone and pointed at Spike, before pointing upstairs. Spike sighed and headed up, as Faith continued to talk on the phone. Connor came down and took the phone from Faith

"Hello? Yes, it's Connor. You want my help? I was recommended? Okay, I'll be there soon, after I clear it with Dad"

Connor lowered the phone and turned to Faith

"Where's Dad?"

"Gone out"

"Okay, I'll come out. You'll have someone waiting for me? I'll be there. Bye"

Connor hung up and went to head back upstairs, but Faith stopped him

"Where are you going?"

"I'm needed and I'll be away for a bit, okay?"

"Okay then"

Connor headed upstairs, packed a few things, before leaving the hotel

"Daddy's gonna love him for that," Spike said when Connor left

"He's old enough to make his own decisions," Faith said

At that moment, Angel and Gwen returned from a patrol. Angel had a confused look on his face as Gwen put their weapons away

"Where's Connor going?"

"Didn't you ask him?" Spike asked

"He just said away"

"Then your guess is as good as ours," Faith said

"Angel, do you remember Gib Cain?" Oz asked

"Briefly," Angel said, "Why?"

"He's here in Los Angeles"

"How bad is he?"

"Werewolf hunter"

"Oh"

Suddenly, a group of vampires appeared in the middle of the hotel, with Gunn and Pavayne standing before them and all holding swords

"Hello once again," Gunn said

"How did you do that?" Gwen asked

"Pavayne here has a few tricks up his sleeve. Show them, Reaper"

Pavayne grinned, as he raised his hands. Angel, Gwen, Oz, Faith and Spike were slammed against the wall, as black magical bonds appeared around their wrists and ankles, pinning them to the wall

"Cool, huh?" Gunn said, "Now we have a bit of fun"

"Uh, Chuck, you missed someone," Spike said, motioning over Gunn's shoulder

Gunn turned around, as Illyria's fist slammed into his face, knocking him down. Pavayne turned to face her and scored a kick in the chin. The other vampires attacked, but when Pavayne went down, the magic faded, allowing the others to drop off the wall and join the fight

"Ah, much better," Angel said as he took down a vampire with a single punch

Spike backhanded a vampire, making him spin through the air, as Pavayne entered the fray and punched Spike in the jaw. The blond vampire responded with an elbow to Pavayne's chin, following by a jumping punch. Pavayne came in with an uppercut, throwing Spike through the air

Angel dodged both of Gunn's punches and came in with one of his own. Gunn snarled and punched Angel in the face, making him stumble. Angel recovered quickly and blocked Gunn's kick and lightly jabbed him. Gunn growled and vamped out

"Let's finish this," he hissed

"Fine," Angel answered, vamping out as well

Faith blocked a vampire's punch and retaliated with one of her own, before picking up a stray sword and decapitating the vampire. His body dusted, as Faith whirled around and beheaded another vampire. Gwen ducked under a vampire's kick and pressed her bare hand against his skin, delivering an electric shock to his body and throwing him through the air. Another vampire came in and punched Gwen, but seized up when Oz staked him through the back

"Thanks"

"No problem," Oz replied as he bashed a vampire in the face with his Bo staff

Spike smashed through the office door and skidded to a stop against the desk. He got up grinning in his vamp face, as Pavayne stepped into the office

"Nice shot, Matty. Come and do that again"

Pavayne lashed out, but Spike caught his arm and twisted, before slamming his other hand knife-like upwards into Pavayne's elbow, breaking his arm. Pavayne cried out, as Spike stepped back and delivered a roundhouse kick to his stomach, slamming him against the wall. Pavayne stepped away from the wall and grabbed his broken arm

"What are you doing?" Spike asked

Pavayne flung his arm out, the bones reconnecting and healing in an instant

"Whoa, some major mojo. Where'd you get it?"

"Archive in Wolfram and Hart"

"Bloody Wesley"

Spike went flying over the desk from a well-struck kick. Outside, Angel sidestepped Gunn's punch and struck him with a head-high kick, throwing him through the air. Gunn flipped onto his feet and grabbed one of his comrades, before throwing him at Angel. The elder vampire shoved the vampire aside, as Gun grabbed a sword and swung towards Angel's throat. Angel caught the blade and held it strongly, as Gunn struggled to push it towards his neck

"You should have know you couldn't win," Angel said

"True, but at least as I took a chance," Gunn said, "It's what the Senior Partners wanted"

"Then I'm sorry"

Angel elbowed Gunn in the face, before spinning the sword around and swinging hard. Gunn's face morphed back to normal, as his head fell away from his body and dusted. Angel's face returned to normal and he dropped the sword. Illyria sliced a vampire in half at the waist and looked around, seeing that all the vampires had been killed. Spike exited the office, wiping blood away from his lips

"Are you okay?" Illyria asked him

"I'm fine," Spike answered

"What happened to Pavayne?" Angel asked

"Put the old coat hanger to good use," Spike said, "Just don't go into the room"

He took a thick book out of his coat and handed it to Angel

"Do your exorcist mojo"

"Yeah, sure, no worries, since I didn't even kill the guy"

"I can't read Latin"

"Fine"

Angel headed into the office and set everything up, before exorcising Pavayne's spirit from the hotel. Once the spell ended, Pavayne's body began burning up, until it was nothing but ash on the desk and floor, as Angel left the room

"How you feeling?" Faith asked

"Fine. Let's just get some rest"

"I can do that"

††††††††††


	10. First Kiss: Werewolf Battle

††††††††††

"Grox'lar beasts. Stronger than they look," said Spike

"I won't say no to that," Faith agreed, "But we still kicked their asses"

"Wasn't easy though," Gwen said

"Come on, let's get going," Angel said, "More might be coming and they won't be easy"

"Fine, whatever," Spike said, "Even though we had Oz going crazy"

"I doubt that," Oz said

"Yeah, says you"

"Spike, you are causing me pain in my head," Illyria said, "Stop"

Spike shut up and continued walking

"You're not going to go all boom on us, are you?" Angel asked

"No. I believe not. I think that will never happen again"

"Probably just an ordinary headache," Faith suggested, "You did take a pretty good knock from that sledgehammer"

"That may be so. I am no longer durable as I once was"

They arrived back at the hotel, where they found Connor standing at the front desk, reading a letter and a knife lying next to him

"Connor, you're back," Angel said

"Yeah"

"Where'd you go?"

"I was called out to England to help Dawn deal with a rogue slayer"

"If that slayer hurt Dawn," Spike started

"No, Dawn's fine," Connor said, "She's in Scotland with Buffy now"

"Oh good"

"What's the letter about?" Gwen asked

"It's from someone named Cain"

"Can I look?" Oz asked

Connor handed the letter to Oz, who read it quickly and scrunched it up

"What did it say?" Angel asked

"Cain is challenging me to see him," Oz answered

"You want us to come?"

"No, I'll be fine. I can handle this one on my own"

"It's the full moon tonight," Gwen said, "He'll be expecting a werewolf"

"Then he's gonna get one," Oz said

"Won't you be endangering yourself more?" Angel asked

"I'll be fine. Don't worry"

Oz turned and left the hotel

"Someone's got their knickers in a knot," Faith stated

"You would to if someone wants to skin you," said Spike

"Don't start," Angel warned, "I'll going to bed"

"Sounds good," Gwen agreed

She and Angel headed upstairs and went to their rooms, as Faith headed towards the basement. Connor soon followed after her, leaving just Spike and Illyria in the lobby

"So, you've got a headache, love?"

"I believe that is the correct term"

"There might be some Panadol around here somewhere"

Spike looked around behind the front desk and in the office, but couldn't find any Panadol, as Illyria groaned in pain from the headache

"Come on, pet, we'll go upstairs"

Illyria shot him a glare when he said 'pet', but otherwise ignored it as she followed Spike upstairs and into his room. He removed his coat and boots, before getting on the bed and patting the space between his legs

"What do you want me to do?" Illyria asked

"Just lie here. I'll give you a head massage. Might help with the ache"

Illyria reluctantly laid down between his legs, her head in his lap, as he began running his fingers along her temples and stroking her hair. Illyria relaxed when she felt the headache slowly fading away, as Spike continued to give her the massage

"Thank you for this," Illyria said softly

"What's that?" Spike asked

"I said thank you"

Spike grinned

"You're cute when you're angry"

Illyria sat up sharply, groaning when the sudden movement brought her headache back. Spike grinned at her when she glared at him, before darting in and planting a quick kiss on her cheek. Then he realized what he had done. And in complete shock to him, Illyria grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss

††††††††††

Oz stepped inside the deserted building and looked around, sniffing the air for Cain's scent, while training his ears for any noise, the Bo staff held tight in his hand. Oz walked around carefully, whilst keeping an eye out for Cain. However, his foot pressed down on a loose floorboard, letting out a loud creak

BLAM!

Oz jumped back, the bullet just striking in front of him

"You showed up, wolfie," Cain's voice rang out, "But you're not a doggie"

"I can choose to assume my wolf form," Oz said, "Your hunt here is pointless"

"Oh, I think not. I think I can make the wolf come out and play"

"You're playing with a dangerous fire here"

"Yeah, but it's fun"

BLAM!

The bullet struck the wall over Oz's shoulder. He dropped and rolled along the ground, coming behind a pillar. He took in a deep breath and peeked around the corner. A bullet chipped the pillar just inches from his face, as he ducked back around. He took in a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down, as he began to call upon the wolf inside

Fangs grew in his mouth, as grey fur began appearing across his body. His fingernails extended into claws, as his legs changed shape and a small tail grew. Oz fell onto all fours and sniffed in Cain's scent. He growled and darted out

BLAM!

The bullet just missed, as Oz ran up the stairs and raced towards Cain. The hunter aimed his rifle and squeezed the trigger. The bullet struck Oz in his left arm, but it only slowed him down slightly, as he lunged at Cain. The hunter held his rifle up as a shield, as Oz crashed into him and brought him down, snarling in his face. Then, Oz began to change back into his human form

"See, I have a choice now. You being here is pointless"

Cain's rifle slammed into Oz's jaw, knocking him down, as Cain got up and aimed the rifle at him

"Yeah, but you're still a vicious monster that needs to be put down. So no matter what you say, I'm still gonna skin your hide"

Just as Cain was about to pull the pull the trigger, Oz leapt at him in his werewolf form, knocking him down, before lowering his fangs. Then, with his bloodstained lips, Oz tossed his head back and howled

††††††††††


	11. The Sect of the Black Scorpion

††††††††††

"Oz, are you okay?" Gwen asked

Oz nodded, though he was looking pale and walking stiffly. Angel came out of the office and froze

"What?" Faith asked

"He can smell it," Oz answered, "He can smell the blood"

"What happened?" Angel asked

Oz somewhat shrugged

"I tried to persuade him, but he was about to shoot me. And in that instant, I let the wolf's instincts take over. I lost control"

Oz then turned and headed upstairs

"Maybe someone should talk to him," Angel suggested

"I'll do it," Gwen offered

"Okay"

She headed upstairs, as Spike came downstairs and went to the fridge for a beer. Angel headed back into his office, as Spike sat on the couch and continued drinking

"So, how steady are you and Illyria?" Faith asked

Spike choked on his beer and spat most of it out, as he looked up at Faith with an incredulous look on his face

"Are you out of your mind?"

"Well, you were making out with her"

"How…what…how did you…huh?" Spike stammered

Faith snickered

"Oh come on, bad boy, we can all tell you are falling for the god-king. Former"

"Then you're terrible at telling things apart. Nothing is happening between us and never will"

"Uh-huh"

"What about you and Angel?"

Now it was Faith's turn to get flustered

"What? Excuse me? Me and Angel?"

"Yeah. I can see you've been checking him out every now and again"

"Well, you're blind. Its just friendship between us"

"True, but you want it to be more than that"

"Yeah, you wish, Illyria's bitch"

Spike opened his mouth to protest, but Connor came down the stairs and headed over to them

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Nothing," Faith answered

Spike glared at her, but Connor didn't notice at all

"Where's Dad?"

Faith pointed at the office. Connor gave her a slight nod and headed into the office, as Oz and Gwen came back downstairs

"So, what's up?" Faith asked

"We're heading out," Gwen answered, "Oz might need his head cleared"

"I could do it for you," Spike offered

"I rather not have a headache, thanks," Oz said, "You cause enough as it is"

He and Gwen left, with Gwen smirking and Spike glaring at their backs

"Aren't they luck I have a soul?"

"Gwen could kick your ass. And Oz could too"

"Traitor"

Illyria came down the stairs, wearing a blue shirt over faded hip-hugging jeans and a denim jacket, while her hair was tied back into a loose ponytail

"Wow, Illyria, for once you look good," Faith said

Spike looked at her and did a slight double take

"Well, I think I prefer the night-" he caught the look on Faith's face, "look that you have in the leather, but you look good. Different"

"Like a bit of leather in the bedroom?" Faith smirked

"I bet you do"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Spike rolled his eyes. Suddenly, a spinning top came flying into the lobby. Faith and Spike jumped up, as the top suddenly stopped and popped open, spilling out hundred and hundred of scorpions

"What the bloody hell?" Spike cried

A cloud of dust appeared around the scorpions and they began to change, growing larger and changing shape, until they had formed into a group of ninjas with glowing gold eyes

"Ninjas? You have got to be kidding me," Faith said

"What's going on here?"

Angel and Connor had come out of the office and saw the ninjas standing the lobby

"Where did they come from?" Angel asked

"From that thing," Spike answered, pointing at the top

"Who are you guys?" Faith asked, "And by the way, that was a neat trick"

"We are the Sect of the Black Scorpion," answered one of the ninjas

"The name sounds crappy," Connor said

"We are the fore bringers of the apocalypse"

"Great, another one," Angel said

"And we are here to kill you to ensure everything goes to plan"

"I love this part," Spike grinned, "Come on then, let's go"

All the ninjas drew their swords. Spike's grin faded

"Spoke too soon"

The ninjas broke off into several groups and rushed at them, targeting a single person each and surrounding them

"Ah, we're not outnumbered," Angel said

He dropped and swung his leg out, tripping up several ninjas, but the other ninjas dodged his leg and swung their swords. Angel grabbed a fallen sword and swung high, deflecting several blades, before rising up and swinging hard. He decapitated a few ninjas and watched as they dusted

"Vampires. They're vampires"

"I figured that out already," Faith said

She was fighting side by side with Connor, while Spike was with Illyria, fighting together in almost perfect tandem, swinging their swords and decapitating the ninjas. Angel parried a sword and swung his sword back, just missing the ninja, while cutting down the ninja behind him. The first ninja lashed out again, but Angel blocked him and beheaded him, as Faith staked a ninja standing next to the one that Connor had just dusted. Spike ducked under a sword and swung his upwards, slicing the ninja in half, as Illyria kicked another ninja in the jaw, cartwheeling him through the air

"What the?"

A ninja cried out when electricity struck him. Oz had his Bo staff ready, smacking a ninja in the stomach, before splitting the staff and staking the ninja. Gwen dodged a sword and grabbed it from her attacker, sending a shock through him

The rest of the ninjas suddenly stopped fighting and stood very still like statues, as a black cloud of dust swept over them. When the cloud faded, the ninjas were gone

"Okay, now that wasn't weird," said Spike

††††††††††


	12. Learning About the Sect

††††††††††

"So, the Sect is Japanese-based," said Oz

He and Gwen were at a local library, surfing the Web for any info on the Sect of the Black Scorpion. It had been a few hours since the attack at the Hyperion and everyone else was out searching for any signs of them throughout Los Angeles

"And they're ancient, dating back to the fifteenth century," Gwen read

"They'll also die for the cause, which makes them a little insane"

"Which is, of course, assassinations. Oh and bringing around apocalypses. That last part has been a little hard for them, so luckily for them, they have help"

"Unluckily for us," Oz said

"And they're mostly vampires, although sometimes human or demon"

"Wonder if they have a base or something"

Oz searched through the site, until he found what he was looking for

"Ah-hah. Their base is in Tokyo, where it has been ever since the capital formed"

"That's where it's always been"

"Oh"

"It's been branching out to carry out assassinations across the world, but the home base is in Tokyo. Destroy the base, you destroy the cult," Gwen said

"And how do we do that without angering the Senior Partners further?"

Gwen shrugged

"We'll figure out a way. Angel always does anyway"

"Yeah. Now we've just got to get back and tell him about it"

Oz shut the computer and got up, but saw a small group of Scorpion ninjas behind them

"You're not going anywhere," the leader said

"Oh, well, that's a shame to hear," Gwen said

She kicked the computer chair at them. The ninjas jumped out of the way, as Gwen grabbed her stake and threw it into a ninja's heart, dusting him. Oz smacked a ninja in the face with his staff, before blocking a sword coming towards his face. He twisted his arms to swing the sword away, bringing his staff back and knocking the ninja down, before slamming one end of the staff into a ninja's nose. Gwen kicked a ninja in the jaw, before dodging a sword and striking him in the back of the neck with her knife-hand. Another ninja swung his sword and just missed her by a hair, as she did a scorpion kick on him, before grabbing the blade and sending an electric shock down it into his body. The ninja fell back, allowing Gwen to take the sword and behead another ninja, his body dusting as it went past her

"Impressive," said the leader, watching Gwen

"So is this"

The leader turned around, as Oz ran him through the heart with one half of his staff. The leader turned to dust, as Oz put his staff together and looked at Gwen

"Let's get going before more turn up"

††††††††††

Angel deflected the demon's arm, before wrapping his own arm around the demon's neck and kneeing it in the stomach. The demon grabbed Angel around the waist and lifted him up, before pushing hard against him. Angel flew through the air and rolled onto his feet, as the demon roared and charged at him

"I got him"

Connor jumped in from behind and swung his sword, but the demon struck him first, throwing him through the air. Angel lunged and grabbed the demon around the head, before snapping its neck. Connor groaned and got up

"Okay, so I didn't get him"

"Well, thanks for distracting him anyway"

Angel and Connor left the alley, where they found Spike and Faith fighting against a group of vampires in the middle of the street

"Should we help or just watch the show?" Connor asked

Angel was only half listening. He was busy watching Faith fight. In so many ways, she reminded him of Buffy, but also didn't

"Dad?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Should we help?"

"They seem to be doing alright on their own," Angel answered, just as a vampire knocked Spike to the ground, "They'll be fine"

"Even with that troll heading towards them?"

Angel looked in the direction that Connor was pointing and saw a large troll carrying a huge club with spikes sticking out of the top and heading towards Faith and Spike

"Okay, we'll help them"

Angel and Connor headed towards the troll, as a group of Black Scorpion ninjas left off the nearby rooftop and landed in front of the pair

"You guys? Oh great," Angel said

The troll ignored them as it walked past, intent on Faith and Spike

"Let's make this quick," Angel said

He ducked a sword and kicked the ninja in the stomach, as Connor parried a sword and brought his back to decapitate the ninja. Angel punched another ninja in the face and grabbed his sword, as a stake popped out of his sleeve and he rammed it into a ninja's heart, dusting him. Connor scored a punch in the face, but he whirled around and blocked the sword coming towards his throat, before kicking the ninja back and swinging his sword through the ninja's neck

Angel and Connor finished killing the ninjas and turned around to face the troll, but found it lying dead on the road and Illyria standing over it, as Spike and Faith joined her, both a little worn out from the fight they just had

"Damn, I wanted to kill that thing," Angel said

"Hey guys"

Everyone turned around as Oz and Gwen came running up the street to them

"Did you find anything?" Faith asked

"Yeah, we found out quite a bit," Gwen answered, "The Sect is an assassination cult, dating back to the fifteenth century. And their base is in Tokyo"

"Tokyo?" Spike said

"Yeah, that's where their main base is. They branch out, but Tokyo is their home"

"Destroy the base in Tokyo, we destroy the cult," Angel said

"Sounds like we're going to Tokyo," Spike said

"Yeah, we're going to Tokyo," Angel agreed

††††††††††


	13. Arrival in Tokyo

††††††††††

"So, this is Tokyo, huh?" said Faith, "Pretty big"

"It sure is," Angel agreed, "A lot bigger than I last remember it"

"And when was that?" Spike asked

"Way before you were around"

"Well, this is my first time to Japan"

"This city is strange," Illyria said, looking around at the bright lights and cars whizzing past, "It seems confusing"

"Yeah, cause L.A. is nothing compared to this," Spike said

"Whoa, you could get lost in this place easily," Connor said

"So stick close," Angel said

"You don't seem unfazed by this place at all," Spike said to Oz and Gwen

"I was here a few years ago," Oz said

"Same here," Gwen agreed

"Right, so you should be able to tell us where to go before the sun comes up"

"I can't"

"I can," Gwen offered, "Come on"

She led them away from the street and began heading towards the tall skyscrapers. After a few tries, they finally found a hotel where they could all stay, getting a large six beds and two bathrooms apartment. Spike and Connor were bouncing on the beds, testing them out, much to Angel's chagrin

"These beds aren't bad," Spike announced, "Nice and soft"

"Yeah, can you stop bouncing on them? You're gonna break them and I really don't want to have to pay for it"

"I'll break them? You'll break them, tubby"

"You don't see me bouncing on them"

"Guys, chill," Faith said

Spike and Angel glared at each other, before moving away, while Oz and Gwen were busy unpacking their bags. Faith was sitting in the window, looking down at the city below, as Connor went to unpack his bags

"So, where do we start looking for the Sect?" he asked

"Checking out the underworld," Angel answered, "But not tonight"

"I sense a strange power," Illyria suddenly said

"What power?" Spike asked

"Very powerful, here in this city. She is strong. And she's not the only one"

"What kind of power?" Spike asked again

"Like one who is connected to the earth"

"Willow?" Faith guessed

"Willow?" Angel repeated, "She's here in Tokyo"

"From what Blue is saying, yeah she is," Spike said

"Who's Willow?" Gwen asked

"She's my old girlfriend," Oz answered, "And a very powerful witch"

"One of the most powerful around," Angel continued, "Rivalled only by-"

"Amy," Spike cut in, "Maybe that's who Illyria is also talking about"

"Well, if Willow is here, that means Buffy is here as well"

Angel headed for the door, but Spike stopped him

"Whoa, you're gonna go see Buffy? Right now? You don't know where she is"

"I can find her before the night is out"

"Yeah, why is that? Oh, because you think you two share a special bond. You're not the only one who has a bond with her"

"You're not coming, Spike. She might know something about the Sect"

"So you like to think"

"Spike, get out of my way"

"We'll both go and see her"

"What? No"

"Guys, don't make me break it up," Faith said

"Why not?" Spike asked, ignoring Angel

"Cause I don't want you to"

"It's not always about what you want"

"That's it"

Faith got up from the window and headed towards the vampires, standing between them and pushing them away from each other

"Cut it out or the next time, I'll do more than break you two up"

"Yeah, okay then," Angel said, "But I'm still going to see Buffy"

Spike opened his mouth to protest, but Faith cut him off

"Relax, blondie, he's not gonna sleep with her while he's at it"

"Better not"

"I can't. Curse remember"

"Oh yeah"

Spike seemed to brighten up after that. Faith sighed and headed back to the window, as Oz and Connor were going through the weapons they managed to sneak into the country. Gwen had gone into the shower, while Illyria was sitting on one of the beds, where Spike soon joined her

"So, B's in town," Faith said, "Reckon she might know something about the Sect?"

"That's what Angel is gonna find out," Spike said, "But she might just be here for Amy. Like what Blue said, there are two strong powers here. And we know that one of them is Willow. And I know that the other is Amy"

"So, Amy's gotten really powerful huh?" Oz wondered, "Even equal to Willow?"

"Well, Red thinks that Amy's abilities were technologically augmented and seeing as how the witch is in league with the military, I'd say that's possible"

"And that means Amy can be defeated, right?" Connor said

"Yeah, but it won't be easy for them"

"I think we should all go to bed," Faith said, "We've had a big day, flying over here and we're gonna need our strength if we're gonna go looking for the Sect"

"I agree," Spike said, "Now, reckon you can close those curtains, Faith. I don't want to wake up and find myself on fire"

Faith closed the curtains and headed for the shower when Gwen came out. Everyone went to his or her own bed, while Illyria got into the same bed as Spike, lying next to him as he held her close. Faith saw them from the doorway and smirked, before closing the door and going for a shower

††††††††††


	14. Charity Event Held by Enemies

††††††††††

"How did the talk go?" Spike asked the next morning

"It went okay. Buffy's here after Amy and she has heard about the Sect," Angel answered, "Where has everyone gone?"

"Oh, Oz, Illyria and Gwen went shopping, while Faith and Connor are in the sewers, trying to find anything about the Sect"

"And you're not out there because?"

"It's daytime. I don't feel like bursting into flames"

"Wouldn't that be a shame?"

"You go out there then"

"No"

"Sissy"

Spike flopped down onto his bed and crossed his arms behind his head, as Angel sat in the chair away from the beds, but also away from the sunlight, sitting in silence for the next hour, until Oz, Gwen and Illyria arrived back

"Enjoy the shopping, pet?" Spike asked Illyria

"Yeah, she did," Gwen gushed, "Boy they have some interesting stuff here"

"You bought clothes?" Angel asked, eyeing the bags

"Well, yeah, we'll need some new ones"

"You get any blood?" Spike asked

"Blood?"

He nodded and then rolled his eyes when Gwen continued to give him a puzzled look

"Don't worry, I got some," Oz said, heading towards the fridge

"What about beer?" Spike asked

"Beer? Oh yeah, I got a pack"

He put that away in the fridge, as Illyria sat on the bed next to Spike and leaned against his shoulder. Gwen was busy unpacking her bags, as Oz looked out the window

"No word from Faith and Connor?"

"None," Angel answered, "Why don't you go out and have a look around?"

"Already have. Got a little worn out from all the excitement"

"Yeah, I bet," Spike snickered

The door burst open, as Faith and Connor stepped into the room

"Hey guys," Faith greeted

"Find anything?" Angel asked

"Not much about the Sect, sorry to say," Faith answered, "But we did find something out. They're holding a ball tomorrow night"

"A ball? Whatever the bloody hell for?" Spike asked

Faith shrugged

"A charity thing or something"

"Probably how they get their cash flow," Gwen suggested, "Hold balls for the city and use that money to travel around and get the latest stuff"

"Looks like we rocked up in time for it," Faith said

"It could be a trap," Oz said, "They might know we're here"

"We haven't been here long enough for them to know," Angel reasoned

"With their cash flow, they could have someone who would know the instant we arrived," Oz continued, "Like a seer"

"So they act like nice guys to continue being bad guys," Spike said, "Sounds cool"

"Okay, so we need to get into the ball and find out what they're up to," Angel said

"What? No way," Spike protested

"Okay, you can stay here and we'll all go. We could have some fun"

"You went to a ball once a few years ago," Illyria said, "I know this from the sparks"

"Check your sparks again. It was a ballet," Angel said

"Okay, I'll go," Spike said, "Dance like a fool and destroy the ones for creating the reason for me to dance like a fool"

"So you're gonna dance?" Faith asked, "This should be interesting"

"Shut up"

"Children, cut it out," Angel said, "First up, we need some ball clothes and second, a way to get some invitations"

"Or we could just sneak in," Spike suggested

Angel ignored him

"Everyone, go and start shopping. Spike and I will stay here. Wait, Faith, is there a way we can get into the sewers without getting fried?"

"Sorry, but no"

"Okay, we'll stay here then"

"Oh god no"

††††††††††

It was the next night and everyone was busy getting ready for the ball. Angel was adjusting his retractable stakes, as Faith was trying to fix up his tie

"Man, you can be a pain sometimes, Angel"

"Yeah, whatever"

"I hate these monkey suits," Spike groaned

"Oh stop whining," Gwen said, "You look good"

"Really? You're just not saying that?"

"You do"

"Okay, I feel much better than. Angel, you finished playing with yourself there?"

"Can I stake him? Please?" Angel whispered to Faith

She smiled and shook her head. Angel rolled his eyes

"I tell you, this won't be a picnic," Spike said

"Which is why we've got stakes hidden on us," Angel said, "Get yours"

"Oh yeah"

Oz handed him a pair of retractable stakes and he put them on, hiding them under his sleeves, as Faith stepped back from Angel

"There, all done"

"We all ready?" Angel asked, "Got our 'dates'?"

"Well, except for Connor here, yeah we do," Spike answered

"Alright then, let's go and have a ball"

"Oh god. Now he's making lame jokes"

Spike took Illyria's arm and left the room first, followed by Oz, Gwen and Connor. Angel held his arm out to Faith and she took it with a smile

"You look good," she said

"So do you," he replied

"Oh stop, you're making me blush. Let's just do this thing"

"Agreed"

Together, they left the room and joined the others outside in the limousine, before being driven towards the ball

††††††††††


	15. Arrival at the Ball

††††††††††

"Whoa, check this place out," Faith gushed, "It is trippin"

"Stunning yes," Spike said, "Boring, of course"

"Shut up," Angel hissed

He led the group to their table and sat down, along with everyone else

"I hope we don't have to dance," Spike said

"If we want to get somewhere, we're gonna have to," Angel told him

"Oh great"

"Wonder what kind of dancing they'll have," Gwen said

"Ballroom dancing, of course," Spike said

The band started to play a slow tune, as people got up from their tables and began gathering onto the floor

"Okay, I guess we dance now," Angel said

"I'll just stay right here and watch your backs," Connor said

Angel gave him a small smile and got up, taking Faith's hand, as Oz led Gwen out onto the floor

"What exactly is this dancing?" Illyria asked, "I have sparks of Fred doing something where she jumps and twirls when she was younger"

"Ballet? Well, pet, this is different," Spike said, "Come, I'll show you"

He got up and held out his hand to Illyria. She took it and he led her away onto the dance floor with everyone else, as Connor watched them and sighed

"Finally joining us, Spike?" Faith asked

"Shut up. You just keep dancing with Captain Forehead there"

"Hey"

A waiter stopped by Connor's table and offered him a drink, but he waved him off

"Wow, check out this place"

Connor sat up suddenly and turned around towards the familiar voice. Dawn was standing behind him, wearing a light pink and purple gown with curls framing her face. Connor got up to get a better look

"Wow, look at you," he whispered

"You don't look so bad yourself," Dawn smiled

"How'd you get here? How did you know about this?"

"I'm here in Tokyo with my sister and her friends. Your dad called me up earlier and told me the address and who to expect"

Connor looked out towards the dance floor at his father, who caught his eye and smiled. Connor gave him a small nod, before looking back at Dawn and holding out his hand to her

"Shall we?"

"Of course"

Connor led her out onto the dance floor, nearby where Angel and Faith were in each other's arms, slowly rotating on the spot in time with the music. Connor gulped slightly, as Dawn rested one hand on his shoulder and he placed a hand on her waist

"What the?" Spike cried when he saw Dawn

"Keep dancing. I am enjoying this," Illyria commanded

"Yes, pet"

"Whipped," Angel snickered

"Like you're any better? The way Faith's got you wrapped around her finger?"

"Huh?"

"Dumb-ass"

"Just dance, Captain Peroxide. See how Oz and Gwen are doing it?"

"I don't want to know if they're doing it"

"Oh shut up"

Angel turned away with Faith and they headed deeper into the crowd, as Spike rolled his eyes and turned back to Illyria, putting his arms around her waist

"Come on, pet, let's just ignore them and keep dancing"

"I like that," Illyria agreed, as Spike dipped his head towards hers

"Whoa, can't believe that Spike's moved on," Dawn said, watching the pair kiss as they danced, "Buffy might not like that"

"Ah, she'll live," Connor said, "Don't worry about them. Think about us"

"I like that idea," Dawn smiled

She rested her head on Connor's shoulder, as he kissed her head. She looked up and smiled, before pulling his face to hers and kissing him. They were lip-locked for a few seconds, as the song ended and they parted, Connor having a sheepish look on his face, as Dawn led him back to the table, where Oz and Gwen joined them

"Where are the others?" Oz asked

"Out there still," Dawn answered

Spike and Illyria were next to arrive at the table and then finally Angel and Faith

"So, what's next?" Spike asked, "Hey Niblet, you look stunning"

"Thanks, Spike. You look good as well"

"If I could blush, I would"

"Faith and I are gonna sneak around in the back, see what we can find out," Angel said, "Oz, Gwen, Connor and Dawn, you're out on the floor, playing the part of guests, but watching the guards"

"What will Blue and I do?" Spike asked

"You'll be coming with us. I think that there are five floors, including this one. We'll take a floor each"

"Got it"

"And let's be discreet if we can," Angel added

The next song started up

"Alright, let's go," Angel said

They headed out onto the floor again, as Angel led Faith away and tried to dance discreetly towards one of the doors. Seeing that no one was watching them, Angel and Faith slipped through one of the doors. Five minutes later, Spike and Illyria joined them

"Shall we get this over and done with then?" Spike asked

"Come on"

Angel headed towards the hallway and saw a set of stairs leading up on the right side and a guard that currently had his gun out and pointed at them

"What are you doing here?" the guard asked

"We're just here looking for the Sect of the Black Scorpion," Angel answered

"Who?"

Angel grabbed the vase sitting next to him and threw it at the guard, knocking him down before he could fire off a shot

"Guard for hire. Let's keep going"

The four headed for the stairs and reached the second floor, as Spike and Illyria continued on to the third. This time, there were three guards, but they had their backs turned, as Angel and Faith snuck towards them. One of them turned around and went to cry out, but Angel's fist slammed into his face, as Faith kicked a guard in the chest, before punching the third guard. Angel turned and backhanded the second guard, as Faith dropped the third guard with an elbow

"Okay, let's hide them"

The pair hid the guards in a nearby room, before having a look around through the other rooms

"Kinda gives me a sense of nostalgia"

"Huh? Why?"

"Oh, no reason at all"

Angel was thinking back to the night at the ballet when he had gone running around backstage with Cordelia. He quickly snapped out of his thoughts when Faith opened the last door on the floor and stepped inside

"Hello, Angel," said a voice

"Oh crap," Faith said

††††††††††


	16. Backstage at the Ball

††††††††††

"I've been waiting for you to make an appearance," the vampire said, as he got up from his chair and headed towards the window

"I'm guessing you're the leader of the bunch?" Angel asked

"You are correct"

"So, is it true? You are gonna bring down an apocalypse?"

"You are correct again"

"What will it be? Rain of fire? Demon rising up? Hell reigns on earth? Throw all you got at me. I've handled it before and I will take it again"

"You are foolish for having such assumptions"

"So, what's your name?" Faith asked, "Old Tooth? Fangless?"

"Emperor Shinja of the Black Scorpion Cult"

"Ooh, wow, scary," Angel said, "That really provokes general fear"

"As your real name does? Angelus, the demon with an angel's face"

"Much better than Shinja"

"Are we gonna argue over whose name is better or what?" Faith asked

"My, aren't you a feisty one, Faith?" said Shinja

"You know my name?"

"We have been watching"

"Sick puppies"

"We know all about your team. Who they are, their strengths and their weaknesses"

"Yeah, you know them as well as you know me, which isn't much"

"Angel? Made a vampire in 1753, cursed with a soul in 1898, lost it and cursed with it in 1998, moved to Los Angeles in 1999 and fought evil for the last five and a half years while there. You've also lost five members of your team, while another one has left on his own"

"Wow, guess I was wrong"

"And Faith Lehane, born in 1980, made a Slayer in 1998, travelled to Sunnydale in the same year, went to jail in 2000 for murder. Broke out of there in 2002, fought against the First Evil in 2003 and has been fighting with Angel for the last few months"

"Damn, this guy knows his stuff, which is scary. How long have you been following us?"

"Long enough"

"Scary"

"Alright, enough talking I believe," Shinja said, "Kill them"

"Here we go," Angel said as he vamped out

††††††††††

"Wow, that was a great song," Dawn gushed as she sat down

"I wonder what's taking so long," said Gwen, "Shouldn't they be back by now?"

"Don't worry, they'll be fine," Oz said

One of the back doors suddenly burst open, as Spike and a few vampires came flying out into the ballroom

"Or not," Oz corrected himself

Spike got to his feet, his game face on, as one of the vampires lunged at him. Spike pushed him aside, before kicking the second vampire in the chest and scoring a punch in the face from a third

"Where's Illyria?" asked Connor

As soon as he said that, the blue-skinned god-king came out into the ballroom, her hair now trailing around her shoulders, as she threw a vampire through the air

"Let's go help them," Gwen said, rising to her feet

Several vampires came out and joined the fight, as Oz, Gwen and Connor came in to help Spike and Illyria. More vampires came out, caught up in another battle with a pissed-off Angel and Faith. Dust was flying everywhere, until the vampires had been killed. Both Angel and Spike returned their faces to normal

"Come on, let's go," said Angel

"Why? What's going on?" Dawn asked

"Boss man is coming and he isn't nice," Faith answered

"Come on, Dawn," Spike said, lightly taking her by the arm and escorting her out

"What did you find?" Oz asked

"The leader of the sect," Angel answered, "And he's not someone you want to run into in a dark alley"

"How bad is he?"

"Let's say about five, six hundred years old of evil," Faith answered, "With a wide range of experience of magic under his belt"

"Enough to rival Willow?" Dawn asked, not really wanting to know the answer

"No, I don't think so," Angel answered, "But we've got to go and we've got to get you away from here, Dawn"

"I'll take her," Connor offered

He led Dawn away from the building, as everyone else headed back towards the hotel

"What a way to end the night," Dawn said

"I'm sorry"

"Ah, don't be. I had fun"

"So did I," Connor smiled

They stopped outside Dawn's hotel, as Dawn turned and faced Connor with a smile

"Well, I hope to see you again"

"Yeah, same here"

She gave him a small kiss on the cheek, before heading inside. Connor lightly touched his cheek, before grinning like an idiot and heading back to his own hotel, where he found everyone packing their bags

"What's going on?" he asked

"We're getting out of here," Angel said, "We can't fight them here"

"Why?"

"We're not really strong here. We're better off at L.A. we can draw them there and take them on in our own setting"

"Okay"

"Come on, the sooner we can pack up, the sooner we can get back," Angel said

"Aye aye captain," Spike smirked

Connor quickly packed his bags, as everyone left the room, handed the key back and left the hotel, before waiting for a taxi. Connor looked in the direction of Dawn's hotel and felt some sadness settling down upon him. He hoped he would be able to see her again

"Let's go," Angel said once a taxi pulled up

Connor sighed and got into the car

††††††††††


	17. Back to Los Angeles

††††††††††

"Good to be home," Spike said

"Oz, do you have any magic books in your room?" Angel asked

"Yeah, a few. Why?"

"We need a spell that will protect us from the Sect"

"I think I can find one"

"Okay good. Gwen, go help him"

"On it"

Oz and Gwen headed upstairs, as Angel and Spike went to the office

"What's the plan, boss?" Spike asked

"I don't know. Wait for them to come and attack. Kill them off in waves"

"Uh, hello. It's seven of us against like five hundred of them. Good luck"

"Yeah, we need help"

"No amulets"

"Shame"

"Haha"

"We need to get everyone ready and prepared. Even if we have a protection spell upon this place, we don't know how long it can last for"

"Hopefully long enough for us to come up with a plan"

"The only idea I can think of is by killing the leader. If he's dead, the whole organization will crumble"

"What if they re-elect a leader before they crumble?"

"Okay, so we take out the leader and his subordinates. Without anyone with any sort of power influence, we will be able to cause in-fighting and disruptions throughout the cult. So the Sect will collapse upon itself and disappear"

"Great, now what we need is the leader to show himself with his arms wide open and allowing us to get a free shot at him. Which I know is not going to happen. The leader is gonna stay back at Tokyo and enjoy the privilege of not dying"

Angel got up from his chair and circled to the front of his desk, leaning against it

"No. Shinja would want to be here, enjoying the show. He works for the Senior Partners, I'm sure of it. Why else would they be after us?"

"For the fun of it? Er, because the Partners hired them?"

"We are a great prize. Shinja would want to be here to watch us fall. When he gets here, we'll take our chance to kill him and destroy the Sect"

"Er, yeah, best of luck, Angel," Spike said, giving him a thumbs-up

"You are in this, right?"

"Behind you all the way"

"Good. Go and find out if Oz has found anything"

Spike left the office and ran into Connor, who was heading for the office

"Dad's in there, right?" Connor asked

"Yeah. I think Captain Forehead's got a plan"

"Like what?"

"Kill the leader"

"Sounds good"

Connor went into the office, as Spike headed upstairs, meeting up with Illyria who had just left her room

"What's up?" Spike asked

"What is happening?" Illyria asked

"We're gonna wait for the Sect to attack us so we can get hold of the leader and kill him, hopefully destroying the Sect as a result"

"Very well. Spike, shall we talk?"

"About what?"

"About us"

"What's happening between us, pet? Not sure. Depends on what you want"

"What I want is to experience these emotions. I had once asked Wesley to help me experience them, but he refused"

"Well, he was feeling a bit of grief over Fred, luv," Spike said, resting a hand on her cheek, "Me, I can see the difference between you two"

Illyria closed her eyes slightly and placed her own hand on his, as he drew her closer for a quick, passionate kiss

"I wish to explore this relationship further. Find a sort of closure"

"Can do"

Spike took her hand and led her away towards his bedroom

††††††††††

"How you're feeling?" Faith asked as she entered Angel's room

"Better now that Oz and Gwen have put a spell on here," Angel replied

"Good. Now we can all sleep easier"

"Not that we've really had any easy sleep"

"True"

Faith walked closer to Angel and stood near him as he stared out his window

"There is gonna be a big battle coming," he said

"I can tell. And you're all tense"

"Gotta be ready"

"You gotta relax, otherwise you'll kill yourself"

"Oh yeah, how?" Angel asked, turning around

Faith planted a small kiss on his lips

"What are you doing, Faith?"

"Kissing you"

"You know this could lead somewhere"

"Only if you let it"

"Which is why I'm not going to"

"Why?"

"You know. My soul"

"That? Oh come on. Willow secured your soul last time when you were Angelus"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, she told me on the way home. No curse"

"But how?"

"Red's a very powerful witch. She left a certain part out of the spell"

"But you said I still had it before I left to see Buffy"

Faith grinned

"I wanted you for myself. Now, give in and relax. You can brood more tomorrow"

"But, Faith. You know something like could ruin our friendship"

"No, it won't. Because I think I've found the one who I could be with"

"Huh?"

"Slow on the uptake, that's for sure. I want you, Angel, more than ever. I want you always, not just for this one night, but hopefully for many other nights"

"I still-"

Faith cut him off

"Don't. Just enjoy this"

Angel sighed, as Faith leaned in and kissed him again

"Ah, what the hell" 

He gave himself over to the kiss, as he led Faith towards his bed

††††††††††

"Man it's quiet all of a sudden," Connor said

"Yeah, where is everyone?" Gwen asked

"Apart from us," said Oz

"Do we want to go and find them?" said Gwen

"Have you seen how close Spike and Illyria are becoming. I'd leave them alone," said Connor

"Agreed. What about Faith and Angel?"

"Who knows, but who wants to find out?" suggested Oz

"Good point," said Connor, "We'll just keep watch," he added, grabbing a sword

††††††††††

Later that night, everyone had retreated to bed, hoping that the protection spell would hold up. So far, only a few ninjas had been spotted, but had run away before anyone could react. A couple had even been spotted outside Angel's bedroom window

Angel suddenly shot up in bed, gasping in pain, as Faith slept on, oblivious to the noise. Angel groaned and fell out of bed, pain tearing at him. He knew what was happening, but was powerless against it. His soul was being ripped from his body. But as his soul left his body, Angel knew something was going on. After all, he knew he didn't reach perfect happiness

††††††††††


	18. Transformation

††††††††††

Faith woke up and quickly sat up when she realized Angel wasn't in bed with her. Clutching the blanket to her body, Faith got out of bed and started getting dressed. Once she was dressed, she headed downstairs where everyone else were, except for Angel

"Morning," greeted Gwen, "Enjoy your night?"

"Has anyone seen Angel?" Faith asked

"Last time I saw him, he was heading towards his room," Connor answered, "Which was where you found him"

"Yeah"

Spike was lying on the couch with Illyria lying on him, while Oz was at the front counter, reading a book on magic and Connor and Gwen were going through the weapons

"Any sign of the Sect?" Spike asked

"None since last night," Connor answered, "but we didn't get to kill them"

The front door opened and Angel came into the hotel, wearing tight black leather pants and his leather coat over a black T-shirt

"Where did you go?" Faith asked

Angel smiled, as Spike sat up suddenly, staring at Angel

"What is it?" Connor asked Spike

Spike got to his feet and stepped closer to Angel, who continued to smile

"Worked it out yet, blondie?" he asked

"It's not Angel," Spike said flatly

"What?" Gwen asked, "Of course it's Angel"

"No, it's not. It's Angelus"

"Spot on," Angel grinned, "But sorry, no prize for you"

"But that can't be possible," Faith said, "Willow said his soul is anchored"

"Guess the little witch was wrong," said Angelus, "Because I'm back"

"The Sect," Spike said, "They had something to do with this. That's why they were hanging around the hotel last night"

"Oh, this is getting boring," Angelus said, "Let's just get with the killing"

"Yeah, good luck, mate. Because there are all of us against us"

"Suppose that's true. Which is why I got a few friends with me"

The doors burst open, as a large group of ninjas spilled into the hotel

"The spell?" Gwen said

"I had it removed," Angelus answered, "So, who do I kill quickly and who do I kill slowly?"

"You don't even know what a quick kill was," Spike said

"I know you're gonna be one, soul boy"

"Yeah, see unlike you, I can get a happy and not turn into a psycho"

"And unlike you, the psycho is who I truly am"

"Okay, I'm a little confused," said Gwen, "Angel loses his soul if he gets a happy and he turns into a psycho killer?"

"Yeah, that's how it goes," Oz said

"Kill them," Angelus said, "Except for Gwen and Faith. I wanna dance to their screaming later"

"Weapons," Spike called

The ninjas charged, as Angelus stepped side to watch. Connor tossed Spike a sword, before grabbing one for himself and decapitating a vampire. Faith landed a roundhouse kick on a ninja, as Gwen pushed one back, sending electricity through his body. Illyria grabbed a ninja by the leg and tossed him through the air, as Oz transformed into his werewolf form and lunged at a couple of ninjas

"Ah, this is good to watch," Angelus grinned, "I've missed the carnage"

"Care to witness it first-hand?"

Angelus stumbled back from Spike's punch

"What happened to you, Spiky? I remember you to be all for the carnage. Oh wait; you got yourself a soul so you could a little goody-goody two shoes. No, that's right, it was to get into Buffy's pants, but she rejected you"

"Yeah, like she rejected you when she sent you to hell"

Spike swung his fist again, but Angelus dodged and punched. Spike growled, vamping out, as Angelus chuckled and did the same

"Bring it on, soul boy"

Spike sank his fist into Angelus' stomach, before driving his elbow into his back. Angelus hit the floor, as Spike lifted him up onto his knees. Angelus grabbed Spike by the wrists and swung his legs around, before placing a foot into Spike's chest and throwing him over him. Spike rolled onto his feet, as Angelus flipped onto his

"You're even more pathetic than the last time I saw you," Angelus said, "Before, you were all moping over Drusilla because she never wanted you. And you were moping about Buffy because she never wanted you. Wonder how long you and Illyria will last"

"I don't think you'll be around long enough to find out," Spike said

"Really. You're gonna kill me? Think you've got what it takes"

"Well, for one thing, I know I won't be all remorseful over it"

"See, now that's the problem with souls. You can't kill and enjoy it. You kill and you get all sad and moping"

"Which would explain why you hate yourself so much"

"Please," Angelus said, rolling his eyes as he blocked Spike's kick

Spike stumbled back from Angelus' punch, as the elder vampire followed up with a spinning high kick. Spike flipped through the air and landed on his face. Angelus grabbed him by the back of his coat and threw him down into the lobby. Spike rolled onto his feet, scoring a punch in the face from a ninja

Faith staked a ninja and dodged a sword, before driving her elbow into the ninja's back, then looking up at Angelus' vampire face. He smiled at her and gave her a small wave

"Guess I have you to thank for this"

Faith backhanded a ninja, before staking another ninja as she headed towards Angelus

"So, think you can actually fight back this time or are you gonna try and drug me again?"

Faith swung her fist, but Angelus grabbed her by the wrist and twisted her arm behind her back, before kicking her in the stomach. Faith groaned, but ignored the pain as she twisted her upper body, elbowing Angelus in the face. He let her go, as she turned and kicked him in the face. Angelus landed facedown, as Faith grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him over, raising her fist

"Come on, hit me"

Faith went to punch, but a ninja tackled her, as Angelus got his feet and laughed, before seeing that most of the ninjas he had brought in had been killed

"Come on, let's go boys. We'll get them later"

Angelus blew out of the hotel, as the remaining ninjas followed. Connor helped Faith to her feet, as she stared at the door Angelus has just gone through

"Okay, someone want to explain to me what the hell just happened?" Gwen asked, "Angel was a good guy, now he's a bad guy?"

"Angel and Angelus are two completely different people," Spike said, "They share the same body and memories. Put a soul in it, you get Angel. He gets perfect happiness, he loses the soul and Angelus comes out"

"So, we need to give him a soul again," Gwen worked out

"Yeah. And we didn't need this, not at this time," Connor said

"His soul was secure. That's what Willow told me and she's powerful enough to do that," said Faith

"Maybe the Sect had a spell that was able to remove Angel's soul," said Oz, "Or even do a spell that brought Angelus' mind forward, even if he still has a soul. It would be like as if the soul was never there"

"Well, I know one thing we have to do," said Spike, "We have to call Willow"

††††††††††


	19. On Their Own

††††††††††

"So, what are we gonna do now?" Connor asked

"We can't go after Angelus. We do that and he kills us all," Spike said, "It was one of his favourite games, hide and seek"

"Well, we need Willow here," Faith said

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious," Spike said

"We got her number"

"Got it here," Connor said, "Dawn gave it to me," he added sheepishly

Spike raised an eyebrow at the youth, before picking up the number and dialling the number. It rang a few times before someone answered

"Hello?"

"Xander?"

"Spike? What are you calling here about? And how did you get the number?"

"No time for questions except for my own. Is Willow there?"

"She's in the hospital room"

"What happened? Never mind, is she awake?"

"Uh yeah, I think she is. Satsu, go and see if Willow is awake"

Someone in the background agreed and left the room

"So, what's happening in L.A?" Xander asked

"We're battling against an ancient cult of vampiric assassins, but it's no big. We have a bigger problem than that, which is why we need Willow"

"For something magical right?"

"Why else would I be calling for Willow, nimrod?"

"Willow's out of action right now"

"You just said she was there"

"I know, but she can't go anything magical. Amy and Warren stripped her of her powers the other day while she and Buffy were rescuing Giles"

"And how is Buffy by the way? And Dawn?"

"They're fine. Buffy just came out of hospital. Is Willow awake? She is? Good. Spike, you wanna talk to her?"

"Yeah okay"

"Transferring you through"

Spike waited a few seconds for the transfer, until someone spoke on the other end

"Hello?" said Willow

"Red, it's Spike here"

"Hi, Spike, what's happening?"

"Angelus is back"

"What? How?"

"The Sect have done a spell to bring Angelus forth"

"Impossible. His soul is anchored. I did it myself"

"Yeah, we know, its just, Angelus is back and we need your help, but you can't cause Xander told me you lost your powers"

"Yeah, I did. Sorry that I can't help right now"

"That's okay. Just come here when you've got your powers back, okay?"

"Okay. Spike, what you should do is find the spell the Sect used. That might help"

"Okay. Bye Red"

"Bye"

Spike hung up and looked at Connor and Faith

"Well?" said Faith

"Willow can't help us. She lost her powers"

"What? How?"

"Amy"

"Oh"

"Oh, now isn't that a shame?"

Faith and Connor whirled around to see Angelus standing near the door

"What are you doing here, Angelus?" Connor asked

"It's Dad to you, boy, don't forget it"

"Get lost," Spike growled

"Don't want to"

A bolt smacked into Angelus' shoulder and he snarled, vamping out and turning towards Oz and Gwen, both holding crossbows. Oz was reloading his

"Fine then," Angelus said, relaxing his vampire visage, "I'll go. But don't forget, I will return and I will be bringing along some friends"

"Oh, we'll be counting on it," said Spike

"Good then"

Angelus turned and left the hotel, as Illyria came down the stairs and stood next to Spike, resting a hand on his shoulder

"Was Angelus just here?" she asked

"Oh yeah, he was and he's promising us a fight," Spike said, "And we'll fight him. We just have to wait for Willow to show up"

††††††††††

"Hey, knuckleheads," Angelus greeted

The ninjas stepped back, as Shinja made his way through to him

"So, they know that we're coming?"

"Oh yeah, they do"

"And they'll be ready for us"

"Yep"

"You idiot. I wanted to take them by surprise"

"Oh come on, Shinja, you'll overwhelm them. I mean, look at all these vampires. There's no way they can win. Well, unless they kill you that is"

"Which is not going to happen," Shinja said, "I'll be staying out of the way. We need to wipe Angel Investigations out if we want this apocalypse"

"Oh yeah, that thing," Angelus grinned, "When is that happening?"

"As soon as your friends are dead"

"They're not my friends, nimrod"

"You dare insult me?"

"Calm down. You're way too tensed up. You need to loosen up a bit sometimes"

"You are too relaxed about this"

"Yeah, so what?

"We're gonna need you in this fight, Angelus, if we are to have this apocalypse"

"And what are you doing for that?"

"We're going to unleash Hell. Without any to protect Los Angeles, it will fall and soon, so will the rest of the world," Shinja answered

"Yeah, didn't you do that earlier this year?" Angelus asked

"This time, we will succeed. We will be having the help of a very powerful witch"

"Amy, that's right. Well, good luck and all, but right now, we have some old friends of mine to kill. Shall we get down to that first and then apocalypse?"

"Very well then," Shinja said, "Ninjas, let's move out"

††††††††††


	20. Angelus's Attack

††††††††††

"Everyone ready?" Faith asked

"Yeah, we're fine," Connor answered, "Just getting bored"

"Don't worry, it shouldn't be for too long," said Spike

"I hope not," Faith said, "Why are we doing this? It's getting depressing"

"It's just for precaution. Angelus promised to return with friends and he usually keeps his promises. Especially one like that"

"What we need to do is get hold of that spell that the Scorpions used," said Gwen from her position on the staircase

"Does anyone know how to use spells?" Spike asked, "Apart from Oz?"

"I can only do moderate spells," Oz said, "Like the shield. For something like that, you need Willow"

"And Willow's currently out of action right now," Spike finished

"Well, in any case, I'm glad I get to use this weapon," Connor said

"You're lucky we were able to find it and fix it," said Faith, "Damn thing hadn't been used in like two years"

"They are here," said Illyria calmly

Spike joined her near one of the windows and sure enough, there were a hundred ninjas standing outside, waiting for the time to attack

"Why aren't they attacking?" Faith asked

"They're waiting for someone," Spike answered

"Who?"

"Him, perhaps"

Shinja appeared before the ninjas. Faith gasped when she saw him

"What?"

"He's the leader. His name is Shinja"

"Don't care about the name. Just wanted to know if he was the leader. Oh, look who's come to join the fight"

Angelus had pushed his way through the ninjas and was now standing next to Shinja, a sword in his hand. Shinja raised his hand, before lowering it swiftly

"Here they come," Spike announced, "Connor, get ready"

The doors came flying off their hinges from the full force of the ninjas, who were instantly set on fire from the flamethrower Connor was holding. Dust was appearing everywhere, as ninjas kept getting dusted. Oz, Gwen and Faith fired their flame-tipped bolts into any ninjas that didn't get hit by the flamethrower

"Incoming," came Angelus' voice

A spinning top came flying into the hotel. Spike instantly fell upon it and sliced it in half, before stomping upon the miniature scorpions, crushing them under his feet

"A little help here, perhaps," said Connor

A ninja rushed at him, but he was too slow to swing the flamethrower. However, Illyria stepped in and delivered a powerful kick to the ninja's chest, throwing him back, before fighting off the other ninjas attempting to attack Connor

"They wanna play with fire," cried Angelus, "Then we'll fight fire with fire. Burn down the hotel"

"Faith, give them a present," Spike called as he decapitated a ninja

Faith raced down into the office and grabbed the canister, before throwing it towards the front door and outside. As it flew through the air, Faith shot the canister with her crossbow, dispelling liquid nitrogen over the ninjas

"Wow," came Angelus' voice as the ninjas were frozen

Oz grabbed a bowling ball and threw it outside towards the frozen ninjas, shattering several of them, as Spike stepped outside to face Shinja and Angelus

"Nice one, Captain Peroxide," smirked Angelus, "Never thought for you to be a brainy person. Guess all that bleach didn't damage your brain"

"Your time is coming, Shinja," said Spike, "And you too, Angelus"

"Ooh, I'm scared," Angelus said, "Come on, Shinja, let's get going"

"You don't order me around," Shinja said

"Okay, you can stay here and get killed. I don't care. Honestly, it would be fun to watch. But if you want to kill them, right now is not a good idea"

"Very well then"

"And you think we're just gonna let you walk away?" said Spike

"Yeah, I think you are," Angelus replied, "Fire bomb"

A few ninjas were carrying flammable cocktails and set them alight, before throwing them towards the hotel, punching through the windows and setting the rooms on fire

"Damn!" cried Spike as he raced back into the hotel

"What's going on?" asked Faith

"They threw a couple of fire bombs into here and now the upstairs bedrooms are on fire. Where's the fire hose?"

"Should be one upstairs," said Connor, "Come on"

Spike followed Connor upstairs to the floor where the fires were on. Connor showed him the fire extinguisher, to which Spike just raised an eyebrow

"That's not a fire hose"

"It's the best we've got"

"Well, you do that, since I'm no good around fire. And hurry"

Connor grabbed the extinguisher and raced towards the bedrooms, as Spike hurried back downstairs to find that Angelus and the ninjas had left

"We need a fire hydrant and a fire truck and lots of water," Spike said

"That's what Faith and Gwen just left to get," said Oz

"Oh, right. Check for anymore fire extinguishers and help Connor out"

"On it"

Oz headed upstairs, as Spike turned to Illyria

"What do you want me to do?"

"Go help Oz. He'll show you how to use a fire extinguisher"

"And you?"

"I'm gonna go after Angelus," he answered, getting a sword

"Be careful," Illyria said, giving him a small kiss

Spike grinned at her, before disappearing out of the hotel. Illyria turned and headed upstairs, where she found Oz with two fire extinguishers. He handed one to her

"Let's go"

They continued upstairs until they joined up with Connor, who was battling against a large fire that had broken out of the bedrooms

"Damn these rooms catch on fire pretty quickly," said Connor

"Faith and Gwen should be back with the fire truck soon," said Oz

He opened his extinguisher and began spraying foam everywhere, as Illyria copied him and started doing the same

"It's no good, the fire's too strong," Connor said, "And I'm out of foam"

"Okay, let's get out of here, now, let's go," said Oz

Oz, Connor and Illyria raced downstairs and out of the hotel, before looking up and seeing the whole floor on fire

"This is so not good," said Connor

††††††††††


	21. Reensoulment

††††††††††

Faith and Gwen returned with the 'borrowed' fire truck and began pumping water into the hotel, dousing the flames within forty-five minutes. Once it was all over, Faith parked the fire truck around the street, before returning to the hotel and joining up with the others

"Where's Spike?"

"He went after Angelus," Oz answered

"On his own? And against the ninjas?" Faith said, "Man, he's dumber than I thought. Come on, we have to go"

The group headed back into the hotel and grabbed the weapons they needed, before getting into Oz's van

"Oz, can you track his scent still?" Faith asked

"Yeah"

"Good. Now drive"

Oz pulled out of the driveway and drove down the street following Spike's scent

††††††††††

"You guys are starting to bore me," Angelus complained, "When do we actually kill someone?"

"We gave you the opportunities to kill Angel's friends, but you failed every time," Shinja said

"Yeah, well it's more fun to torment them first, but I haven't had the chance, simply because they've outnumbered. I mean, actually kill someone other than them"

The front doors opened and Spike came walking in, carrying a sword in his right hand. A ninja went to stop him, but turned to dust after being beheaded. Angelus saw this and sat higher in his chair

"Now, this might be interesting. How ya doing, Spiky?"

"Doing good thanks. Come to send your ass to hell"

"Yeah, but you forgot one thing. There's one of you and like, heaps of us. Do the math. You'll lose"

"Never stopped me before"

"No, I suppose not. Oh well, kill him. And make it a good show"

Angelus leaned back in his chair, as Spike swung his sword and killed three ninjas in one hit. A bolt came flying out of nowhere and dusted another ninja, as the rest of the gang arrived. Connor had a new tank for his flamethrower, setting ninjas on fire, as Gwen, Oz and Illyria were battling against the ninjas and Faith was refitting her crossbow

"About time. Some entertainment," Angelus said, "You know, Shinja, you should have a little bit of fun with your work"

Shinja rolled his eyes, as Spike made his way towards his grand-sire

"Uh-oh, here comes the grandchild, looking to rip me a new one"

Angelus got out of his chair, as Spike swung his sword. Angelus ducked and grabbed his wrist, before striking it with his knee a few times, making Spike let go, then backhanding him. Spike's vamp face appeared, as he snarled and threw a punch. Angelus also vamped out and blocked Spike's punch, as he sunk his other fist into Spike's stomach

Spike landed an uppercut on Angelus' jaw and followed up with a straight jab to the face. Angelus recovered quickly enough to duck under Spike's kick and grab him by the back of his duster, before throwing him through the air. Spike came to a stop before he hit the wall and got to his feet. Angelus grinned and headed over to him. Spike dodged his punch and backhanded him. The grandsire came back with his own punch, before spinning around and delivering an elbow to Spike's face, then dropping him to his knees with an elbow to the stomach

"Give up, Spiky, you can't win against me," Angelus said, "The Sect brought me back for a reason. To kill with them. To sweep the world and wipe humanity from the face of it. We're the top of the food chain and so on top is where we shall be"

"Angelus," Spike said, "You talk too much"

He rose up onto his feet; throwing a punch into Angelus' face, before landing another on his sternum, then a front kick to his chest again, bowling him over

"Hey Spike, we've got it," cried Gwen

"Got what?" Spike asked, dodging Angelus' kick, but getting punched instead

"The reversal spell"

Angelus faced Gwen and snarled, before starting for her. Spike ran after Angelus and tackled him, delivering an elbow to his back, keeping him down

"Get out of here then," Spike called, as Angelus threw him off, "Now"

"You're not getting away, missy," Angelus growled

"Is that so?" Faith asked

She fired a bolt into his thigh, bringing him down

"Let's go," Connor called

Spike ran past Angelus and couldn't resist punching him in the face before leaving the stronghold with the rest of the gang and arriving back at the hotel, only to find someone already waiting for them

"Willow?" Spike said

"I was wondering when you guys would get back," Willow said, getting up

"When did you get here?" Faith asked

"About five minutes ago. I got my powers back and I thought I'd help you guys out quickly"

"That's great, we've got the spell," Spike said, as Gwen handed Willow the spell

"First off, we need Angelus here," Willow said

"Ah, he should be coming soon," said Spike

"Good. Oh my god, Oz, how are you?" Willow cried

"I'm good thanks, Will," Oz answered, "You?"

"Fine thanks. What have you been up to?"

"Wrong time," said Faith

"Oh right. Um, Oz and Gwen, right? You wanna help me get the ingredients?"

"We have a stash upstairs," Oz said

He, Gwen and Willow headed upstairs, as Angelus arrived at the hotel with a few ninjas right behind him

"Right, where is it?" he asked

"What? The spell? Have to kill us first to find it," answered Spike

"I can do that," Angelus grinned

Two ninjas went for Faith, as one went for Faith and another took on Connor. Angelus lunged at Spike and struck him, following up with a left hook, but Spike blocked him and punched him back. Angelus growled and came in with a front kick, knocking Spike over. The blond vampire rolled back onto his feet and ducked under Angelus' kick, before sweeping his legs out, as Willow, Oz and Gwen came back downstairs

"Quick, get ready," Willow called

Angelus got to his feet, but Spike tackled him and punched him, as Oz began burning the bag of herbs, while Willow recited the spell. Angelus threw Spike off and got up, before heading towards Oz. Illyria grabbed Angelus by the back of his coat and threw him towards Spike, who knocked him down with a punch, as the bag burned up completely and Willow finished the spell. Angelus began gasping, as his eyes turned orange and he fell forward onto his hands, before looking up at everyone

"Angel?" Faith asked

"Faith?"

"Yep, it's him," Willow grinned

Angel groaned and got to his feet, before seeing Willow and giving her a smile

"Thanks"

"No problem. Now that I'm done here, I'm off," Willow said

"What's going on with everyone?" Angel asked, "I heard the Sect talking about it. Something that Amy's doing"

"Big army. We're fighting her in Africa. If you want to help, just let me know"

"Okay"

"Bye"

Willow left, as Angel turned back to everyone

"Alright, I think I know what we have to do now"

††††††††††


	22. Attacking the Stronghold

††††††††††

"What are we doing?" Spike asked

"We're gonna take out the entire Black Scorpion," Angel answered, "And Shinja is the one who holds the key"

"The key to what?" Faith asked, "Success?"

"The key to saving Los Angeles," Angel replied, "He's wearing an amulet that keeps the darkness floating over Los Angeles. Senior Partners gave it to him. If we can get hold of it and destroy it, hello sunshine to L.A."

"If we destroy something of that great a power, it could have other affects," said Oz, "Such as killing everyone in the whole vicinity"

"If that happens, at least we wipe out the Sect," Spike said

"It could also destroy the city," Gwen said

"Look at it this way, the city is already destroyed"

"What about the people?"

"Are you talking about the people who have left the city? Or those that stayed behind and got eaten before we could get to them"

"Guys, enough," said Angel, "We are going back there and we're taking on the Sect. And we are going to destroy them tonight"

"I like that plan," Spike said, "Let's gear up"

Spike headed over to the weapons cabinet and began pulling out all the weapons

"Let's see, what have we got?"

"We could always use the flamethrower again if we had another gas bottle," Connor said

"As long as you don't point it at me," Angel said

"And that liquid nitrogen idea worked out real good too," said Faith

"Yeah, where did you get that from?" asked Angel

"Got it from somewhere. I think the ruined labs of Wolfram and Hart"

"Oh great, more reason for the Senior Partners to come after us"

"Hey, if we wipe out the Sect, I think they'll leave us alone," said Connor, "Well, that's the theory anyway"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Spike asked, "I say we go in there, all loaded to the brim with weapons and annihilate them. If we use our brains-"

"Well, that excludes you," Angel interrupted

"We should be able to take them out," Spike finished, ignoring Angel

"Okay, so we'll get a lot of gas tanks and other weapons," Faith said, "And we'll storm the place"

"Sounds like a plan," said Angel, "Let's go"

††††††††††

"Any sign of them?" Shinja demanded

"There is no one at the hotel," a ninja answered, "We don't know where they are"

"They're not on their way here, are they?"

"No. We checked all routes"

"Maybe you should have double checked the routes"

All the ninjas whirled around to the sound of Angel's voice

"Where are your friends?" Shinja asked

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Angel answered

"You are a fool to come alone"

"You are a fool to think that"

A flaming bolt came flying out of nowhere and slammed into a ninja, instantly turning him to dust, as the rest of the gang arrived

"Kill them," Shinja demanded

A stake shot out of Angel's left sleeve, which he rammed into a ninja's heart, while a long, retractable sword slid out of his right sleeve and he swung it towards a ninja, beheading him. Faith dusted another ninja with her crossbow, while Connor was using the flamethrower, which had been modified to be small and rest on his back. Oz dodged a sword and slammed his Bo staff into the ninja, before twirling the staff around and knocking out another ninja, as Gwen parried a sword and elbowed the ninja, swinging her sword back and slashing him across the chest, while throwing him through the air at the same time from the electrical charge running into the sword. Spike and Illyria were fighting side-by-side in almost perfect tandem, dusting the ninjas, as Angel made his way towards Shinja

"So, our plan to bring you to evil failed?" Shinja said, "That's a shame"

"Yeah, I'm not that big a fan on apocalypses," Angel said

Shinja drew his sword and held in front of him

"Ready to die?"

"Are you?"

Shinja made the first move, which Angel countered and the pair began the fight. Faith rammed the butt of her crossbow into a ninja's face, before taking his sword and decapitating another ninja. Another ninja came in from her left, but she took a stake out of her jacket and dusted the ninja. Spike noticed a couple of ninjas running through a pair of doors that had been partially hidden and tapped Illyria on the shoulder

"What?"

"Over there. A couple have gone through. I think they're trying to protect something"

"Then we shall destroy them and find out what it is"

"That's my girl"

Spike and Illyria headed towards the door and disappeared through them, as Connor finished using the flamethrower and dropped it, taking a stake out of his back pants pocket and dusting the first ninja that came at him, before taking the sword

Angel and Shinja were fighting furiously, matching each other blow for blow, until Shinja caught Angel's sword under his arm and snapped it off, while running Angel through the chest. Angel cried out in pain and fell to his knees, as Shinja removed his sword and held it above his head

"Time to die"

Shinja swung his sword, but Angel dropped his body, sweeping Shinja's legs out from underneath him, before ramming a stake into his shoulder. Shinja hissed in pain, as Angel found the amulet tied around his neck

"For you," Angel said

He grabbed Shinja's sword and slammed it through the amulet and Shinja's chest, pinning him to the ground, as the amulet began glowing

"Let's get the hell out of here," Angel cried, grabbing a sword and killing a ninja

Faith motioned to the others and staked a ninja on her way out, as Spike and Illyria returned, saw what was happening and began following after Connor, as Angel killed another ninja and joined the others outside, as they quickly closed and bolted the doors, preventing the ninjas from escaping

"Quick, let's go," Angel said, seeing how bright the glowing was

The group quickly began running away, as the glowing stopped for a split second, followed by an explosion that ripped the building apart, destroying the Sect, while also taking out a few other buildings. A beam of light shot towards the sky and parted the dark clouds, letting sunshine to come through for the first time in months

Angel and Spike instantly ducked out of the way of the sun, hiding in the shadows under a building ledge, where the others joined them

"Well done," said Angel, "We've done it. We've saved L.A."

"Yeah and check this out," said Spike, "I've got something that I think will help Buffy"

He opened his hand, showing it to Angel, who looked a little puzzled at first, but then a smile spread across his face

"Someone go and call Willow. Bring her here. We're going to Africa"

††††††††††


	23. Returning Home

††††††††††

The plane arrived at the Los Angeles airport, as Angel and the gang got off the plane, most of them helping to carry Dawn's belongings

"Geez, you're as bad as your sister," Spike groaned, "You like to pack big"

"Can't help it. I'm a girl, remember?" Dawn asked

"Don't remind me. Stupid boy bands," Spike said, rolling his eyes

"Well, I'm happy anyway," Connor said

"Yeah, we know," Faith said, "And we do not need to know anymore"

"Connor, you haven't done anything with Dawn now have you?" Spike growled

"No"

"Good. Keep it that way"

"Oh come on, big bad, I'm a big girl now," Dawn smiled, "I can make my own decisions"

"Suppose that's why you're here, right?"

"Yeah"

"Well, aren't you lucky we're wearing these rings," said Spike," Otherwise it would take a while to get all your things back to the hotel"

"Suppose. I can't wait to get to the hotel. Doesn't sound as cool as a castle, but it's cool all the same"

"Angel, can I talk to you in private?" Oz asked

"Sure," Angel answered, as he fell back

Oz and Gwen kept with him, staying a good distance away so Spike couldn't hear them

"What's up?" Angel asked

"We're leaving," Gwen answered

"What? Why? Where are you going?"

"I'm heading back to Tibet and then we're travelling," Oz said, "My mission here is done and Gwen wants to come with me"

"You've spoken with her about this?"

"Yes"

"So, you don't want to stay here?"

"We'll stay to help clean up a bit," said Gwen, "And then we're going. I'm not quite cut out for this fighting and war thing, you know? It's not me. With the money I've got, we can settle down somewhere"

"And like I said, my mission here is done," Oz said, "My teacher sent me here to help stop the rising darkness in L.A. Now that is done, I can leave and relax, away from the fighting"

"You sure?"

"Yes. I've made my decision and Gwen has made hers"

"Very well then. But you know guys, you are always welcome back at the hotel"

"Thanks," said Gwen, "Maybe we'll come back someday and visit you"

"Are you finished back there?" Spike called, "Ow!"

Angel chuckled when Faith had punched Spike in the arm

"Yeah, wait up," Angel called back

Angel, Oz and Gwen rejoined with the group, as they arrived back at the hotel. Illyria opened the door and was the first to step inside, freezing instantly

"What?" Spike asked, before following her gaze

"Oh my God," Angel said

"No way," Spike growled, "That is not possible"

"It sure is"

"Lindsay," Angel growled, "What are you doing here?"

Lindsay grinned as he got up from the couch and swaggered over to them

"I thought the first thing you would say is 'How are you alive?', but that'll do"

"Lorne killed you," said Spike, "You can't be alive"

"Well, neither are you"

"You're not a vampire," Angel said, "You're still human. Explain that"

"Not sure myself really. But I think its because the Powers are giving me a chance"

"Aren't they fools?" Spike smirked

"Who is this guy?" Dawn asked

"Lindsay McDonald," Lindsay answered, "And you are?"

"Dawn Summers"

"Oh yeah, the Slayer's sister"

"Remind me why don't you?"

"Why are the Powers giving you another chance?" Angel demanded

"I was fighting for redemption and I never got it," Lindsay answered, "Thanks to your demon lackey. But either way, I was going to die anyway, so what did it matter?"

"Good question," Angel said

"But the Powers, for some reason, saved me from the brink of death, telling me to join with you guys, to fight for my redemption and gain it like I should have"

"You've got to be kidding me," Angel said, "You want to work for us?"

"I never said I wanted to," said Lindsay, "But it's the only way. You know I was looking for redemption by fighting on your side, but you took that away from me. Or at least, Lorne did anyway. Where is he by the way? I wanna say hi"

"Lorne isn't with us anymore," Illyria answered

"That's a shame"

"Connor, you and Dawn head upstairs, help Dawn settle in, okay?" Angel asked

Connor and Dawn carried her belongings upstairs, as Lindsay watched them go

"That's your son? From what I heard, he was still a baby"

"Long story. One you won't hear"

"Oh don't be like that, Angel. I mean, come on, we're gonna be working together now. Can't we at least be civil?"

"Angel can be, but I won't," Spike said, "Not after all that crap you put me through"

"Yeah, but you enjoyed it anyway," Lindsay said, "So what do you say, Angel? Gonna let me work for you and fight alongside you. I am a really good fighter, I do have skills. But you already know that"

Angel crossed his arms over his chest and gave it a quick thought

"You turn on us, you're dead"

Lindsay smiled

"As you say, _boss_"

Lindsay headed for the door, but stopped and turned back

"You won't be regretting this. At least I can promise that"

And with that, Lindsay was gone

"I still can't believe he's alive," Spike said

"Neither can I, but now he's working with us," Angel said, "Okay, everyone, let's get settled in quickly. We've got a few big days coming for us"

"At least we have an extra hand," Faith said

"Yeah I know," Angel said, grabbing one of Dawn's bags and shoving it into Spike's arms, ignoring his protest, "So, let's get to it"

Everyone headed upstairs. Spike and Illyria went to their own room, dropping Dawn's bags at her room, where Spike ended up growling at Connor when he caught locked at the lips and Illyria had to drag him away quickly. Oz and Gwen were in their rooms; packing up their belongings, ready for their trip that was to come, while Angel and Faith went to their room

"So, how are you feeling?" Faith asked

"Better now that it's all over," Angel answered, "And I never got to tell you this, but I'm sorry for the whole Angelus thing"

"Nah, don't worry about it. I shouldn't have given the Sect a chance to do something like that. They were watching us, waiting for the right time"

"I know, but still. And they're all dead now anyway, so it's all over. We don't have to worry about anything like that again"

Faith smiled

"I'm glad. Now come here and give me some sugar"

Angel smiled and went to her, kissing her on the lips and leaning her towards the bed

"Hey, no hanky-panky," came Spike's voice through the door, "We're gonna be too busy to do anything like that"

"I'm gonna go kill him," Angel growled

"Best of luck," Faith grinned as she kissed him

Angel got up from the bed and opened the door, as Spike began running and Angel went after him, while Faith and Dawn stood at the doorway, laughing at the vampire's antics. Dawn smiled. She was going to enjoy it here

††††††††††

**And that concludes the story as planned. If you want a sequel or a continuation of this story with more chapters, or even for this to just be finished with a final chapter, please review and let me know what you think**


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